And As I Wept
by Empyrean Symphony
Summary: Ivona, a Gardevoir, is a Pokemon Historian who is trying to solve the mystery of Vera the Legendary Gardevoir. Along the way, she meets Tristan, a Gallade, who is a librarian who has decided that he'll help her solve her mystery. As Ivona dwells deeper in
1. Ivona

Author's Note: First fan-fiction up the site! It's only the beginning, but I'll be writing more chapters later. I feel this chapter is a bit chunky in terms of how smoothly thoughts and ideas flow from one paragraph to the next, but I think I did my best on this one. Reviews would be appreciated! And thanks for reading!

Also, the setting of the story takes place where no humans exist. It's a universe where Pokemon live and act like humans. Yeah, sounds strange, but I did it because I have an idea in my mind that can only be carried out in a setting like this one. It's slightly like Mystery Dungeon, except there are TVs and phones and modern 21st century technology.

* * *

_There's an old legend about a Gardevoir named Vera who saved her kingdom, a tale that supposedly happened about a millennia ago._

_ Long ago, there was a kingdom ruled by Gawain, a Gallade and Regan, a Gardevoir. They were known as the king and queen, respectively._

_ One day, a foreign army decided to invade the kingdom, led by a mysterious Pokémon no one had known. All that was heard about him was that he was a Pokémon with extraordinary psychic powers, killing anyone who didn't obey him. Gawain would fight on his behalf to save the kingdom, but he failed and died in the battle._

_ With this, the kingdom was enslaved by the Psychic-Type Pokémon. Citizens were forced to become slaves, serving for the New King. No one dared to disobey the New King. If they did, their punishment would be death. _

_ As time passed, a Gardevoir demanded to give her back the kingdom that was rightfully hers. This Gardevoir was Vera, the self-claimed daughter of the previous King and Queen of the Kingdom. This time, she had allies with her, and after a long-fought battle, she won back her kingdom. She locked away the Psychic-Type Pokémon to another dimension using her powers as a Gardevoir to create a black hole, and the kingdom regained prosperity._

* * *

"So, these are all your boxes?" The Machoke asked me.

"Yes. I don't have any more to get out of the house." With that, I held out an envelope. "Here's your payment."

"Thank you," Machoke said as he took the envelope, and then looked at me with desire. I tried to ignore him, already knowing what he is thinking.

"When will you be arriving at my new apartment?"

The Machoke snapped out of his daydream as he suddenly remembered he had a job to do. "Oh, uh, we'll be there in around an hour or so depending on traffic."

"Thank you," I said without any warmth. "I'm going to be taking the train to Metropolitan. I expect to arrive there in an hour."

"Okay," he responded, a bit hesitant to see me leave.

I waved curtly. "See you then." Without another glance, I turned to leave to the train station. I made sure my waist-length cloak wrapped around my body, keeping me comfortable.

Being curt and prim is who I am. I have been this way ever since I was young. A tragedy struck me as a Ralts, and I lost both of my parents as a result. As a Kirlia, more men started eyeing me with interest, which made me feel even more insecure. When a stalker nearly raped me, I evolved into a Gardevoir. I ended up blasting him away, since evolving made me stronger, but then I had a new body to take care of, and it didn't help that men were now staring at me with insatiable lust. What was worse was that I occasionally had evil glares from other women, probably because I took all of the attention of the men, which I never even asked for.

But like every Pokémon out there who ever existed, I have my soft spots. My close friends, Ebony, a Hydreigon, and Aria, a Lucario, are the only ones who have seen me truly smile. I am happiest around them. After all, they'd been with me since childhood. Sometimes, if I trusted certain Pokémon who had a good heart, I would be kinder to them than I usually would. But other than that, no one else was allowed to see a smile from me. I acted formal, pragmatic, and indifferent to the rest of the world.

And even though there were more than enough times where there were Pokémon either looking at me in lust, or looking at me in envy, I had my own comforts, like reading, which made me feel a little better inside about myself. I kept reminding myself that I wasn't just a Gardevoir, but that the most important thing about me was that I was a Pokémon being, and regardless of what gender or Pokémon or type I was, I was still a Pokémon. If I kept this in mind, I was sure to be stronger about myself, physically and mentally.

One other thing about myself: I hate sexism. It is one of the most, if not, the most terrible thing I have seen. Just because I am a Gardevoir does not mean I should be looked at like I am at service for men. And yet, so many men have looked at me with this disgusting look of lust on their faces I can't stand to look at.

I once met another Gardevoir who didn't share the same point of view as I did. I was delighted at having met another Gardevoir, hoping she would understand how many terrible hardships I went through because I was looked at like a thing rather than a Pokémon trying to live her life normally. But what she told me instead was, "Well, you can't do much about it, so that's why I use Attract to get what I want!" She giggled mischievously after this. "Use them to your advantage! Make the men do all of the work for you!"

Hearing that, I was appalled. I never wanted to use Attract to get what I wanted. I wanted to be a Pokémon, not just a Gardevoir, a Pokémon who got things just the way a Pokémon should get what they want. I wanted to live a good, honest life who got things fairly, and I still do. After all, there are many other women and men who get what they need without the use of Attract. Attract might even seem like a good way to win battles, but that strategy won't work forever. Surely, there are better strategies to win battles, and better ways to earn what you want with fairness and honesty.

As naïve as this sounds, I'd like to see gender equality one day. But as long as I am alive, this Gardevoir won't be seeing any gender equality.

Now that I've gotten that out, I can introduce my name. I am Ivona, a Gardevoir. I am a Pokémon Historian specializing in medieval history. History has always been a special subject of mine, particularly because my father always told me bedtime stories about history, and I was fascinated. It fed my curiosity to learn and understand the world around me, and as a result, I could never stop asking questions about all of the stories I listened and read to. It was what led me to major in history later on in my life. And recently, I was hired as the Museum Historian of the Cloisters Museum in the Metropolitan City. With this new job, I decided to move to the Metropolitan. I had just bought a small apartment close to where the museum is, and with that, I had started moving.

Tomorrow would be the first day I would have to report to work. I wanted to make sure that I would be prepared for tomorrow. I was going to be starting my new life as a Pokémon Historian in a beautiful museum. I finally had a secure job, not jobs where I'd be working as a temporary secretary one day and working as a cashier the next. I was looking forward to a better tomorrow, even if I was still a Gardevoir and men would never stop looking at me.

I didn't move to the Metropolitan for just my new job, though. The Metropolitan is one of the most prejudice-free cities known in the world. Pokémon outside always considered the Pokémon living in this city to be cold and unfriendly, but the Metropolitans living in this city would say so otherwise. It didn't matter what Pokémon you were, you could be a Lopunny and no one would even bother giving you a passing glance; they'd all be too busy trying to get to where they need to go. Being a Gardevoir, maybe it wouldn't be too bad, as long as I avoided the sketchy neighborhoods of the city. Having been to the Metropolitan City more than once, I can definitely say that this city is truly a different city in its own way unlike the other cities I've seen.

I arrived at the train station, having my ticket purchased the previous day and went to find the train to Metropolitan. I still had a while before the train would depart the station, so I took out a book on medieval legends I was currently researching about.

A long time ago, in this world of Pokémon, there was apparently a legend about a famous woman warrior named Vera the Gardevoir. She had always been an interest of mine, considering how in her time, women were considered inferior in every way. Women solely existed for the benefit of men, from prostitutes of the streets to maidens of the castle. The Queen was allowed special treatment from time to time, simply because she was the wife of the King. And yet, this famous woman warrior named Vera, a Gardevoir, had saved her kingdom from foreign invaders. She led her army, and she won back her kingdom. Vera was, after all, the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan, and it was her right to take back the kingdom.

But what puzzled me was that there were artifacts and documents proving that Vera was _not_ the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan. There weren't any records even indicating that they had a daughter named Vera. If Vera wasn't the daughter of the King or Queen, then who was she? And if she really wasn't the daughter of the King and Queen, why would she make the claim that she was? There was barely any information about Vera in general, and I had questions upon questions about her.

When I was a small Ralts, before my father was taken away from me, he told me about Vera the Gardevoir as a bedtime story. At that time, I still had many questions about her, but my father said he couldn't answer many of my questions. It upset me as a little girl who could never have all of her questions answered, but my father did say to me that it didn't matter who she was or where she came from. What mattered most was that she knew it was right of to free the citizens of the kingdom, regardless if she was the daughter or not. She knew that if she sacrificed herself, she would have a chance to save the people, and she did. She might have dishonored some, she might have destroyed homes, she might have even manipulated others to do what she needed to do, but in the end, she saved the Pokémon of the kingdom.

This tale had intrigued me for so long which was why I vowed that the first thing I would do as a historian was to figure out the legend of Vera the Gardevoir. In one of the world's most sexist time periods, this Gardevoir was one who broke the laws, went against the norm, and saved a kingdom of Pokémon. It seemed like a miracle, such a miracle sent by Arceus to prove that even in the darkest of times for women everywhere, there is always a light that will shine eventually.

It would change, soon, though. Because tomorrow was my first day at my new job, I'd have access to the Cloisters Library, one of the world's biggest and most private libraries on medieval history. Surely, amidst all of these books, there must be more information on Vera the Gardevoir. Just thinking about working tomorrow made me giddy, something I hadn't felt as a little Ralts.

I sighed contently as I heard the train whistle. Time flies by quickly when you are doing something that has completely taken a hold of you. I smiled to myself. With tomorrow being a brand new day, living in the Metropolitan, being the historian I've always wanted to be as a little Ralts, I could now go on with my life, a little bit happier than before.


	2. Tristan

Author's Note: Second chapter's here! Anyone here ever read "The Sirknight Experience"? It's about a Gardevoir trying to get a guy, Latios, but she fails epically in the end. It's a really well-drawn out comic, though the main character, being a Gardevoir, is a bit stupid (you'll see what I mean if you read it). Anyways, the setting in which the story took place was really nice, so I thought of creating a world similar to that in this little fan-fiction.

Also want to point out that the Metropolitan is loosely based off of the Manhattan of New York City. Generally speaking, Uptown is the quiet neighborhood with beautiful architecture (a little like Europe), Midtown is the radiant neighborhood with towers that touch the sky, and Downtown is the noisiest and liveliest neighborhood. And, the museum in which Ivona works in (The Cloisters Museum) is based off of the actual Cloisters Museum in New York. If you live in NYC or have ever been there, I might add some landmarks that may seem familiar (though there aren't any big names like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building). Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Feel free to review, and thanks for reading!

Last thing! The texts in italics are events that happened in the past, it's about Vera the Legendary Gardevoir. The text not in italics is Ivona's POV, which is present-day. Starting from this chapter, I'll make a dividing mark (~present day~) to show that the scenes are switching. I should have done that in the last chapter, and to those who were confused about the scene switch, I'm sorry about that. .' It won't happen again!

* * *

_Vera was a small Ralts. She didn't know where she came from. All she knew was she lived in a small orphanage with six other Pokémon. The caretaker was Tammy, a friendly, caring Blissey. She often took in abandoned baby Pokémon she found lying on the doorstep._

_ She once asked Tammy if she had any idea where she came from._

_ "I don't know," she replied gently, knowing this would disappoint Vera, "You were found on the doorsteps of this orphanage in a small bundle during a terrible thunderstorm. There was a note I found hiding in your blankets, but all it said was that your name was Vera."_

_ Sometimes, Vera would stare at her reflection in the river near the orphanage whenever Tammy let everyone out to play. She couldn't help but wonder why her parents had abandoned her. Was she too much for them to handle? Was she just not worth their time? Was she not allowed to be with her parents? The questions were endless sometimes. Her orphanage friends dragged her away from the river often when they saw her looking at herself sadly, trying to cheer her up by playing games outside before Tammy said it was time to get back in for dinner. But even then, she couldn't stop thinking about why she was abandoned._

_ But she had to admit, she liked all of her friends. In fact, they truly did make her happy. She could even remember them by heart: Mandy the Charmander, Roland the Turtwig, Emily the Oshawott, Wyatt the Bagon, Shaun the Mareep, and Ian the Drilbur. _

_ They were all abandoned like her, too, being small and un-evolved. And yet, they didn't seem to have any troubled thoughts like she did about being abandoned. She wanted to ask them, but right when she was about to ask them, she became too nervous. When she did have the courage, though, and when she was about to ask the question, someone else would interrupt by accident, prompting her to shut her mouth like a door._

_ Vera promised herself one night before going to sleep that when she was older, someday, she would train to become stronger. And when she became stronger, she would search to find the truth about her parents. This was one promise she definitely knew she would fulfill._

~present day~

I had settled into my new apartment yesterday afternoon, opening up my packages from my old home. I had slept well the previous night, and I went to work today feeling great. My new apartment is in a beautiful, Gothic building, topped with a small elegant bell tower, located in Uptown Metropolitan. Uptown itself is a quiet neighborhood, with classical architecture and gorgeous churches. There are many private gardens and parks that give off an air of elegance. The paths are usually made of cobblestone, and it's hard to see cars pass by every hour. It's a sharp contrast from Midtown and Downtown, where it is usually noisy, busy, and modern-looking. Midtown and Downtown aren't bad, it's only that they have their own way of being wonderful. I love Uptown specifically for its architecture and history, being a historian. After all, Uptown has some of the oldest landmarks and buildings in all of Metropolitan City.

Of course, you still see Pokémon walking around in Uptown. Pokémon usually get where they need to go by walking, mostly. If they need to get somewhere quickly, there is a local subway, though it's used more for the Midtown and Downtown residents.

If I haven't mentioned so already, the Cloisters Museum is a quiet museum in Uptown Metropolitan, and when you enter this beautiful landmark, you truly feel transported to another time. Of all the buildings in Uptown, this one was the most magical, the most golden, and the grandest. What makes it even more spectacular is that the museum is part of a park, Cloisters Park, one of the most beautiful in the entire city.

The building looks like a castle from the outside, even though it really isn't. There are three turrets poking out from the top, giving viewers a wonderful view of the Cloisters Park. The museum itself is three stories high, including the ground floor. The first floor had artifacts from the Medieval Period, the second floor displayed an art gallery, and the third floor had small scale models of various famous castles and buildings. There is a fourth floor, though the fourth floor is a beautiful botanical garden where various plants and flowers are planted. Its ceiling is the sky, from where the plants can receive sunlight and rain.

There is also a grand clock tower very close to the museum, having said to be the oldest building in the entire city. As far as I know, it isn't in use anymore, and it is now part of the Cloisters Museum, though no one is allowed near it.

Not so far away is the Cloisters Private Library. Not many Pokémon are allowed here, either, even though there is a stone path connecting the museum to the library. This building was my jackpot, as I knew the books in there would definitely say something about the legendary Vera. Thinking about it made me feel giddier than I expected.

When I had arrived to the entrance of the Cloisters, I found my boss, Fyre, waiting outside.

"So you've made it here on time," he observed, "Good way to start off your new job."

"Of course," I responded.

"You do know that you don't need to come as early as the others though," Fyre said, "Normally, you can come here at nine."

I nodded. "What will I need to do today?"

"First, I want to make sure that since you're the new historian here, you have a project you'll work on."

I took out copies of my notes on Vera the Gardevoir to show him. "Right, I'm researching about the Vera the Gardevoir, the one saved her kingdom, Penn Kingdom. I want to do a project on her about her life, and why she was able to save her kingdom as a woman living in her time."

Fyre looked at the notes approvingly. "Sounds good. But," he looked at the museum building, "Even with the artifacts here and our museum library, we might not have enough information."

"That's why I took on the challenge," I said confidently, putting away the papers in my tote bag. "After all, one of the things a historian needs to do is answer questions that don't have answers."

Fyre laughed, taking me by surprise. "That's a good attitude you have there," he said warmly, "Anyways, since you have a project to work on, all I need is for you to get acquainted with everyone. Then, you can start your project. I've already had a small office arranged for you conveniently in the library."

"Oh, great," I replied, "How often will I need to show you my progress?"

"I'd say about every two weeks, you can give me a report," he said as he led me inside the museum. I looked to find a grand lobby, with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the top of the grand ceiling. There were several artifacts displayed as tourists walked around admiring them. I got glimpses of different hallways, noticing tapestries in one hallway and small statues in another. Inside, I was already excited.

"You check in at the desk over there," he said, pointing to a desk where an Ambipom and Cincinno were working. "There's a sign-in sheet you write your name on every day."

"Right," I said as a Lopunny noticed us and began walking towards us.

"Ivona, meet Tierra," Fyre introduced, "She's the official tour guide of the museum."

I quickly exchanged greetings with her, noticing how comfortable she looked in the environment. Despite the fact that there were other Pokémon around her, no one was looking at her in any bad way. Knowing this made me feel comfortable already as a Gardevoir. I really wouldn't need to worry about anything like someone staring at me for a long time anymore!

"Tierra, have Ivona acquainted with everyone who works here," Fyre instructed, "I'll be back in my office to finish work."

"Of course," she replied. We waved goodbye to our boss as Tierra began introducing me to two Pokémon in front of us, sitting in a circular desk.

"So, we'll have you meet these two first," Tierra said as the Ambipom and Cincinno waved hello.

"Name's Jenna," the Ambipom with a smile, "I'm in charge organizing tours."

"I'm Avery," the Cincinno said in a light, tenor voice, "I'm in charge of handling events that happen at the museum. So, I hear you're our new historian?"

"That's right," I said, "I'm Ivona, a historian."

"Do you have a project you're working on right now?" Avery's voice started sounding excited.

"I do," I replied, surprised that someone had asked me that again.

"You must tell me about it!" Avery said, now jumping up from his seat.

Jenna sighed, annoyed. "Avery, you do realize you have work to do?"

"Oh, that can wait," he said dramatically, his eyes shining, "Historians are always on a quest to search for a truth, and the hard work and determination it takes to get there is tragic!"

I stared at this lively Cincinno, not ever suspecting I would meet such a guy. Tierra laughed, embarrassed at the situation. Jenna rolled her eyes at him.

"Well," I began, still shocked, "After I've finished meeting everyone here, I won't hesitate telling you about my project."

"Fantastic!" He smiled, smoothing his bright white fur. "Ivona, we're going to be great friends!"

I wasn't sure if I would get used to this. And yet, I already felt grateful knowing that this guy wasn't staring at me in a bad way.

"Anyways, we'll be seeing you later," Tierra said with an embarrassed laugh as she started dragging us away. "Ivona needs to meet the others."

"Be seeing you later!" Avery said merrily.

"See you around!" Jenna waved.

"Don't worry about it," Tierra whispered to me as soon as we were out of sight, "Avery is normally like this."

"No, it's not that bad," I said, "I've had worse. He's much, _much_ better than having men stare at me."

"You too?" Tierra noticed and looked at me, surprised.

I sighed. "Well, let's just say I'm grateful I've got this job here."

She smiled, knowing what I meant. "I was grateful Fyre hired me too. Ever since I've been living here, I've never had anything bad like that happen to me. You feel so much better here, knowing you aren't looked at like someone meant to be used for others."

I smiled. "I feel better already."

Tierra sighed happily, her eyes closed. "Anyways, let's move on, shall we?"

I nodded in agreement, relieved to hear that the city would give me a life I had anticipated for a long time. "Sure."

And so, I walked around the museum meeting my new workmates. There was Marlene, a Weavile, in charge of examining artifacts, making sure they were real. She had extremely sensitive skills, which helped her separate a real artifact from a fake one. Levine, a Zoroark, was the museum designer, who designed everything about the museum from posters to brochures to exhibitions. He used his Ability to create certain illusions to test out his designs before officially making them a reality. The shop manager was Nell, an Ampharos, who kept her shop bright and tidy. Security was Maureen, a Bisharp, and two Houndoom, Henry and Ingrid. The gardener taking care of the gardens at the top of the museum was Lila, a Roserade. The last Pokémon I met in the building was Joey, a friendly Abomasnow, who had an unusual yet magnificent ability to clean the floor using Icy Wind.

"There isn't a lot of staff here for a museum," I pointed out as we were heading to our last destination, the library.

"It's not so busy up here, so we don't need to worry about it," Tierra explained, "While we do have visitors, it doesn't get as busy as the museums in Midtown or Downtown. That's why all of us are knit closely together like a family. This museum is our home away from home."

_Home away from home_… The words echoed in my mind.

"There's one more Pokémon you need to meet," Tierra said, breaking the echo of the words in my head, "His name is Tristan, a Gallade."

"Oh, sounds interesting," I mentioned. Hearing this grabbed my interest.

"He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," Tierra went on, "He's very polite and courteous."

I thought about the last time I saw a Gallade. It had been nearly two decades since I last saw my father, who was a Gallade. Ever since then, I saw occasional other Gallade, but I never talked to them. It had become a bit too painful every time I saw another Gallade, since he would remind me of my own father. My heart would start pounding with fear, thinking about my own father, and my last memory with him. He was taken away by black shadows, along with my mother, and remembering this would paralyze me until I was able to free myself.

But today was different, I had convinced myself this. Though this Tristan was a Gallade, I was not going to submit to the pain I felt about my parents this time. I was going to face it confidently, and because of my new job and my new life, I was going to prove that time did heal pain from the past.

"So, here we are," Tierra said as we arrived at the steps of the library. "It's a small library, but it's also very cozy. I'm sure you'll like it."

We walked up the stairs as Tierra began calling out Tristan.

"Tristan," she called out, "You need to meet our new historian."

Tierra opened the double doors of the library and walked in the library. I followed from behind, my heart slightly beating.

"I'm coming," a gentle baritone voice sang out from somewhere above. I turned my head, wondering where he was.

I heard footsteps, and soon saw the Gallade walking down the intricate spiral staircase, holding three heavy-looking books. I couldn't help but notice how handsome, so handsome he looked, and I felt my heart beat loudly against my skin. I took a breath, hoping to relax for just a bit.

Tristan took notice of me and smiled warmly as he made his way down the stairs. He set the books on a table and came over to us.

"My name is Tristan," he bowed ever so slightly, and then looked at me in the eyes kindly, "I'm the librarian here."

His voice sounded rich and ringing, sounding like music to my ears, and yet it was so gentle, so filled with concern, so gallant and courteous. I felt myself starting to blush standing in front of him.

"I'm Ivona," I introduced myself, trying to sound as normal as I had when I introduced myself to the others, "the new historian."

"Well, that's everyone you met," Tierra said, "Do you know what you'll be doing next?"

"Yeah," I responded, hoping she didn't see me blushing, "Fyre said my new office was here so I'll settle down and start my project."

Tierra didn't seem to notice my blushing. In fact, she didn't seem to notice even one bit. I couldn't be too sure, and yet, my intuition told me that she really was oblivious to the fact I had blushed.

"Okay," she said, sounding her normal happy self, "I'll go back to the museum and tell Fyre that you're settled down now."

I nodded. "Thanks for showing me around. I'll see you later."

She nodded in agreement and said her goodbye to Tristan. When she closed the doors, I found myself facing him.

Being alone with him made me feel more self-conscious of myself, but I still found myself turning red.

"Well, I-Ivona," he started, nervous. I only began realizing that he was red too. "Would you like to show me to your office?"

"Uh, yes, please," I said, not even sounding like my normal self anymore.

"R-right," he replied, each word spoken between us making me more nervous than before, "This way."

_This can only end so well, _I thought as I followed him, _I'm bound to mess up and embarrass myself in front of him!_

I wasn't so sure why I liked him so much. Why I blushed when I was around him, why I started getting nervous, it didn't seem to make sense to me! All I was expecting was that if I saw this Gallade, I would be reminded of my terrible past, of my parents being taken away. But instead, something else happened. When I first listened to Tristan's voice, it was so soothing and musical, so warm and caring, it made me feel safe and secure, as if all of my worries had to disappear. Yet for some reason, it made me anxious and shy, and having him in front of me made me even more anxious and shy than I wanted to be. I didn't want to stop listening to his voice, and at the same time, I did. I wanted him to stay with me forever, and at the same time, I didn't.

It only made things more awkward knowing that he liked me in return. It made remember a tacky romance movie I had watched with Ebony and Aria while I was still a Kirlia. I had laughed at it along with my friends, calling it stupid and awkward. The two main characters in love with each other were shy and careful, but they were very much in love with each other. Having been stupider back then, my friends and I thought we were so much better than the main characters. Now, I could imagine the lovers from the movie, laughing at me this time, gloating happily, "Who's laughing now?!"

"I hope you don't mind that your office is in the same room as mine," Tristan said, bringing me back from my thoughts.

Did Fyre purposely set me up with Tristan? Although I'm sure my boss wouldn't do such a thing, I couldn't help but think of that question in my head. I saw Tristan's desk to my left, and to my right, I saw what I knew was my own desk.

"No, I don't mind," I breathed, hoping to calm myself.

"Oh, good," he said, relieved. "Would you like me to help you with anything?"

"I'm working on a project about Vera the Gardevoir," I began answering sheepishly, "I know there isn't much information on her, but that's why I'm trying to figure out her life so that others can learn about her."

"Oh, that's wonderful," he said, and then, sounding a bit more relieved, "In fact, I'll go get some books on her right now."

"Oh, w-wait !"

"Don't worry, Ivona," he said as he went off into the bookshelves, his voice singing again, "I'll get what you need sooner than you think."

_I'll get what you need sooner than you think…_

I shook my head. Why was I thinking about what he said? Today was my first day at my new job, I couldn't afford to slack off so easily just because I found a fellow workmate so kind and handsome.

Still, I had to admit he really was a knight.

I sighed. _Ivona, get a hold of yourself. After all, you got your dream job. You can't let down this museum, and you can't let down the vow you made about your project. _

Though Tristan might be a knight, he was still just a co-worker of mine. At the moment, what was more important was figuring out the mystery to Vera the Gardevoir.

Right. Vera the Gardevoir, who saved an entire kingdom from an evil Pokémon who took over and enslaved its citizens. No Pokémon Historian had ever cracked the mystery to this spectacular woman, and I was the historian who was going to crack this mystery. This was certainly much more important than Tristan.

I sighed, feeling much more confident. I put my tote bag on my desk and began taking out my notes.

It was time to start work.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, our heroine finally gets to meet her love! While I was writing the part where Ivona and Tristan were alone, I couldn't help but say "D'awwwww, they're falling in love with each other!" Of course, Ivona isn't buying it yet. She's got a historical mystery in her hands, and she isn't going to fall in love so easily. Anyways, thanks for reading!

I also added a small Shaun the Sheep reference (Shaun the Mareep, one of Vera's friends). I wonder if anyone got it while reading?


	3. Beginning Work

Author's Note: I realize how nerdy my characters are. Ivona is a historian who's trying to solve a mystery about a dead woman warrior who existed about a millennia ago. Tristan is a librarian who's just as much as a nerd as Ivona (you'll see later on in the chapter). Well, being nerdy isn't their main problem. Their flaws will come later in the story. Anyways, if you made it this far, thanks for reading! After all, my characters are nerdy… T^T I still like them though, so I'll continue writing the series until I complete it. If you came this far with my nerdy characters, thanks (really)!

But, it _is_ Pokémon and I am planning for battles/action scenes later. It comes a little later where things get a little dangerous for our main characters. They eventually stumble upon the enemies and they don't have any choice but to fight back. Perhaps I gave that away a little too early...

Oh, last note! Anyone ever been to a Gothic library? Part of this chapter is my attempt at describing a Gothic library. I hope I did a decent job, you can comment/criticize how well I did that below. Anyways, enjoy, and thanks for reading! Criticism and comments are welcome.

* * *

_Sometimes, there were days where Vera wasn't thinking about her parents she never met. In other words, she had fun with all of her orphanage friends. _

_ Mandy, the Charmander, was the most hotheaded and fiery of the group. She was the most daring, she was the risk-taker, though that would get her in trouble. One time, when Tammy wasn't looking, she dared everyone to make the biggest splash in the river behind the orphanage. Needless to say, it didn't end so well, especially when Mandy herself jumped into the river. She nearly died, having the flame on her tail almost burn out. Tammy was angry beyond words, scolding her at how reckless she was. Despite that, Vera thought she was still brave and had a good heart, even when she did act before she thought._

_ Roland, a Turtwig, was the calmest and most rational. Unlike Mandy, he always thought before acting, always taking things into precaution. He loved lying down in the grass under the sun the most, and sometimes, Vera would join him and they would enjoy feeling the warmth of the sun on their bodies. Once, Roland talked to her about his admiration for trees, simply because they seemed to be the most patient of all plants. They lived long lives, waiting patiently for their life to end. And while they were waiting patiently, they always gave a home to other Pokémon. Many Pokémon, from Abra to Zebstrika, made their homes under, in, or on trees. He also told her that he believed the strongest living thing in the world was not a Pokémon, but it was simply grass because the grass never failed to come back every winter. Vera knew that he gained this wisdom simply because he was the only one in the orphanage to rest under the sun and think about life this way. She knew that no one else in the orphanage could ever be more rational or calmer than this Pokémon._

_ Emily, an Oshawott, was the most cool-headed and friendliest of the group. After all, she was the one who always broke up fights between everyone, making everyone see their own wrongdoing. Because of this, she never took sides on anyone, and she was the mediator. If Tammy wasn't around, she would usually be the one to make sure everything was running smoothly. Vera thought she was the kindest and calmest of the group next to Roland._

_ Wyatt, the Bagon, was the big dreamer and the most optimistic. He had a dream to evolve into a grand Salamance one day, after all, and often, he would run around the grass pretending to be a strong, mighty Salamance flying in the sky, helping save the world from destruction. Or, at least, something similar to that. Even when Ian, the Drilbur, started teasing him about being a great Salamance, Wyatt still kept true to his beliefs. Vera thought this determination to never lose his goal was inspirational, and this would remind her of her own vow to search for her parents._

_ Shaun, the Mareep, was the most timid. In fact, no one could ever get him to talk unless it was Tammy. Mandy, with her loud personality, made Shaun more timid. Roland, being calm, sometimes managed to get a few words out of him. Emily, being the nicest of all friends, was the one who seemed to get Shaun talking the most besides Tammy. Wyatt could never get a word out of him, but that didn't stop Wyatt from believing that one day, he would. Around Vera, he would never say much either, even if Vera tried her best to be as warm and gentle as she possibly could. _

_ Ian , the Drilbur, was the prankster. He loved teasing everyone and making everyone mad. He poked fun at everyone, although he was slightly more sensitive around Shaun, knowing that one time, when he tried playing a prank on Shaun, he received a well-deserved scolding from Tammy. He had taken that prank a little bit over board, scaring Shaun up to the point where he used Discharge on every Pokémon. The electricity didn't affect Ian, since he was a ground-type, but when he saw all of his friends being electrocuted, he felt guilty. Ever since, he was always a little wary on playing pranks around Shaun. Actually, he was always a little more wary on playing pranks in general, but that still didn't stop him from playing tricks on other Pokémon's minds._

_ Vera really did love her friends at the orphanage. They made interesting dynamics, with different personalities clashing together every day but always making up by the time Tammy said it was time for everyone to go to bed. They weren't her parents, but she still loved her friends, and if anything were to happen to them, she wouldn't hesitate to defend them._

~present day~

As I finished unpacking my tote bag, I couldn't help but look closely at my new working environment. Tristan had taken so much of my attention I could barely pay attention to the wondrous architecture around me.

My desk was next to a French-like window with burgundy curtains, giving me a breathtaking view of the Cloisters Park. Outside, I saw lush grass growing around, with tall trees providing shade. Beyond the park, I could see the West River, beautifully glistening blue from the sunlight.

I turned my attention to my new office. Everything in this office, in this library, seemed built with deep mahogany wood. A finely intricate grandfather clock stood between my desk and Tristan's desk, with roman numerals engraved on the clock.

I quietly peeked out of the office door and walked out with as much stealth as I could gather. There were bookshelves everywhere, right to left, even on the walls. Occasionally, I saw the dim, vanilla-colored light coming from flower bell-shaped wall lamps nailed between the bookshelves. In what seemed to be the middle of the library was the antique spiral staircase, leading to the second floor. I noted its articulate details of roses and ivy, as if I was looking at a magnificent Victorian dress. Behind the spiral staircase was a small living room, where a petite and elegant chandelier hung from the ceiling. There were two modestly-sized chairs with vibrantly red cushions. Between the chairs was a wooden coffee table with a glass sheet covering the surface. Sunlight hesitantly peeked out between the burgundy curtains from the window, afraid to shine brightly into the library.

_You only notice all of this detail _after_ Tristan is gone_, I thought, scolding myself for allowing Tristan to distract me from my new working environment. _But then again, it only means I just have to watch out for him…_

"Ivona?" I heard Tristan's familiar voice.

I turned around, blushing immediately. I found Tristan holding some books, looking at me with concern.

"Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, everything's alright," I said quickly and laughed nervously, "I was just looking at the architecture here. It's really beautiful architecture."

"Isn't it?" He smiled. "This is one of the reasons why I love this job. I get to spend time in this cozy, classical-gothic library, and I never get tired of it." Tristan finished the last words with gratitude.

I smiled shyly. I might as well have been listening to music whenever I heard him talk.

"And what's even nicer is that this library is built on a small hill, so," he cleared his voice here, "Every time you look out one of the windows, you get a gorgeous view of the park."

"It sounds really pretty." I commented, and then remembered the stairs I had walked up with Tierra. I remembered walking up at least ten steps of stairs to get to the main door of the library. It was no wonder I had a breathtaking view of Cloisters Park from my office.

"I-I could show you," he said hastily, now looking at me, his face red. "Up on the second floor, there's a really nice view of the park. You can see the entire park, and even the West River."

I felt excited, wanting to look at the scenery, and then I remembered I had a job to do. "Actually, T-Tristan, you could show me another time." I laughed nervously again. "I just want to start on my job."

Tristan was embarrassed. "Oh, that's right, I got you some books, by the way. As far as I remember, they all have something to do with Vera the Gardevoir. Would you like me to put them on your desk?"

"Ah, please," I said and hurriedly walked back to the office, Tristan following me.

* * *

On top of a branch on a tree in Cloisters Park, a Gardevoir sat with her legs crossed. She was well-hidden from other Pokémon, having the thick green leaves cover her. Only her companion, a Ditto, knew she was hiding on top of the tree.

"So, we have a new neighbor," she observed with her low, seductive voice. She was watching Ivona, who was looking out from the library window, probably hypnotized by the view of the park.

"What's her name?" Her companion asked, switching form to a Swellow.

"Ivona," she replied, switching her legs around, her left on top of her right this time.

Her companion laughed, flying off from the tree to get a better look at Ivona. "She doesn't look very strong for a Pokémon."

"I wonder about that," she said, looking at Ivona closely as she started leaving the room.

Her companion kept laughing until he noticed she was being serious. "What, you can't be serious?"

"Well," she said to herself, not paying attention to her companion, "Maybe she could be a use for us."

"What does that mean?"

The Gardevoir was quiet.

"Well, it means what it means," she finally said to her companion as she jumped from the tree. "I'm going to report this to _him_."

"You're serious? She can't be that important!"

She ignored her companion. She had a feeling that this _Ivona_ could do what she couldn't do as a Gardevoir, and this irked her. If it was true that this _Ivona_ could do what she couldn't do as a Gardevoir, she was going to murder some Pokémon.

_Well, you don't know that yet,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe _he_ will find some use for her. Remember you're doing this for _him.

And then, she smiled maniacally to herself. _Tristan is in there too, _she thought, chuckling to herself, _And if Tristan is in there, I just might be able to wrap him around my finger again._

Her companion sighed as it transformed into its usual form, a Scizor. "Jeez, you could at least wait for me!"

She turned to the Ditto-disguised-as-Scizor. "Why should I wait for you? You're not a baby."

"What, even someone like you can't afford to be nice to your own sibling?"

"We're not siblings," she said flatly. "We're just Pokémon who've been living together since we were born. There is a difference, _Phony_."

"What did you just call me?!" The Ditto started aggressively.

"Oh, someone's mad," the Gardevoir sang sarcastically.

"I want a battle right _now_! Me as a Scizor, you as a Gardevoir!" the Ditto yelled, and then snickered. "With this type-advantage, I'll win!"

"I don't think so," the Gardevoir replied, unfazed by her companion's threats. "I'm going to report Ivona to _him_, remember?" She continued walking towards the abandoned clock tower, making sure no one caught sight of her.

"Tch, party-pooper," the Ditto grumbled as it walked alongside with the Gardevoir, "I still want that battle."

The Gardevoir ignored him, still thinking about Ivona. _If she really can do what I can't, what will this mean for _me? _It could go either really well for me or really badly…_

She arrived at the clock tower, and made sure no Pokémon was looking at her or the Ditto in disguise. Quietly, she opened the creaking metal door to a crack, and then opened the door wide enough for her to slip in like a sheet of paper slipping into a folder. Her companion behind her slipped in and closed the door.

* * *

Tristan put the books onto my desk as I breathed to myself. I needed to relax. Tristan was just a coworker. He was not my lover.

"So, Ivona," Tristan began nervously as I started taking a book from the pile and opening it. "What exactly are you trying to figure out about Vera the Legendary Gardevoir?"

"Well," I began, still breathing, "I just want to understand why she managed-"

"There you are!" a familiar light tenor voice sang in delight. "Ivona, I've been looking all over for you."

I lifted my head from the book to find Avery bouncing into the room. Since when did he get into the library?

"Avery," I said, slightly surprised.

"Yes, indeed, it is me!" Avery jumped up onto my desk. "So, what's your project?"

I laughed nervously, uncomfortable that he had suddenly jumped onto my desk. Did he know something called personal space?

"You've heard of Vera the Legendary Gardevoir, haven't you?" I began, unsure of what would come next out of him.

"Oh yes, though I wish I knew more about her," he replied, "Is she what you're working on?"

"Yes," I replied, still unsure of how Avery would act.

"So right now, judging by the work on your desk, I'd say you are trying to make a complete biography of her?"

"Well, that's one thing," I said quickly, "But what I'm really curious is how she managed to save a large kingdom as a woman."

"Ah! So I see!" He yelled, his nose pointed to the ceiling, his eyes closed, his arms crossed with dignity. He looked theatrical and dramatic, ready for a photographer to take his picture.

I was not sure if I was going to get used to this.

"Avery," Tristan suddenly started speaking. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm on a small break," he explained merrily. "I met Ivona earlier today and she agreed to tell me all about her project today."

"So I see," Tristan said, laughing in an attempt to match Avery's mood.

"Anyways! This seems like a difficult project," Avery commented as he scanned closely at my notes and the books on my desk.

"That's why I took on this project," I explained.

"And when you finish this project," Avery said dramatically, "You will become the first ever historian to solve the mystery of Vera the Legendary Gardevoir! That's why the path to solve this quest will be one of most tragic in history!"

"I think you're taking this a little too seriously," I said softly under my breath, embarrassed.

"But, 'tis true," he pushed back one of his glossy fur scarves, "I'll leave you alone now so that you may do your work."

"Oh, you're leaving already?" I said, surprised.

"Well, I _do_ need to get back to work," he said as a matter-of-factly, "Or else I'll be suffering the wrath of Jenna's Focus Punch."

Tristan laughed. "You've suffered under her Focus Punches more than you need to."

"I _knoooww_," he said, hanging on the last vowel of the word, and then sighed, slightly annoyed, "But she helps me keep up in top shape! This time, if she dares give me another Focus Punch, I'll counter with Iron Tail! I've been working on it with Marlene, see."

"Oh, then you'll be fine! After all, Marlene is one of the best battlers here," Tristan said comfortably.

It occurred to me that these two Pokémon were really good friends. And then, I wished that I would have the same kind of relationship with Tristan instead of having to embarrass myself by turning red in front of him. I was sure Tristan didn't like turning red in front of me either. If I was going to make any progress on a relationship with a coworker, it would be best to avoid it romantically and better to start it as if I was a good friend.

_That's why all of us are knit closely together like a family. This museum is our home away from home…_ I suddenly remembered Tierra's words as they echoed in my mind. If they were all closely knit together like a family, that would mean I would have to start being friendly towards everyone and not so formal and prim like I was before. It meant that I needed to change myself to adapt to this new working environment, so that I could get what I needed to do as a job and as a Pokémon. In fact, Avery was a big reminder at that. Sure, I had minor feelings for Tristan, but like I had told myself before, he was just a coworker. And the way Avery and Tristan talked to each other was close and warm. I reminded myself that I would rather have a relationship with warmth and friendliness instead of a romantic relationship.

At this moment, I knew I had to correct my indifferent attitude towards the world.

"Anyhoo, I'll be going now," Avery waved to Tristan and then to me, "Ivona, we'll be talking again!"

I nodded with a friendly smile as he walked out of the office into the bookshelves. "I'll see you around!"

Perhaps I really would get used to Avery, even if it seemed like I wouldn't get used to him in the beginning.

When I heard the library door close, I started talking. "Avery is an interesting guy."

"He's overly dramatic, sometimes," Tristan explained with a comfortable laugh, "But he's still a good guy. I've known him since we were in primary school."

I smiled as I looked down at the books on my desk. "It's nice. You all seem to be so close to one another."

"And since you're here…" Tristan murmured something incomprehensible.

"What?" I looked at him, ignoring my fear of blushing red. I was going to treat Tristan as a friend. Not as someone I had a crush on.

"Uh, nothing," he said quickly and then turned to me with a friendly smile. "Anyways, since you're working on a project, I could help you."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I'd rather help than just organize books and take care of this library," he said a little more bravely now, his smile warm. "I won't hesitate contacting other librarians around the world just to get you what you need. Even if you need to go to the ruins of Penn Kingdom in Northern Delonia, I won't hesitate to come along. After all, I'm interested in your project, too. It's true there isn't much about Vera, and I'm really curious about her since there was never so much information on her anyways."

Hearing this, I faltered slightly. All I wanted was a job, and I got it, thanks to Fyre. Yet, I got some extra bonuses included in the package. I had a job with a wonderful working environment, good coworkers, and a librarian who just said he would follow me wherever I went in this mystery.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tristan said, this time a little shyly, "Would you..."

I waited patiently, wondering what he would be asking me. He wouldn't be asking me on a date, or would he?

"Would you like to battle with me sometime?"

Inside, I sighed with relief, and then realized that it was actually a _bad_ thing. Truth was, I hadn't battled in a long time, and I hadn't been to any Pokémon gym to work on my battling skills. Not to mention, I didn't have a full set of moves to rely on. In other words, I only knew three moves. My Psychic was rusty, my Signal Beam probably worse. The only move I could truly rely on was Double Team, since it was my trump card in escaping from rapists and stalkers, being a Gardevoir and all. But what use was that for battling?

"It sounds fun, Tristan, really," I began meekly, "But the truth is, I'm not a very good battler."

Tristan was slightly taken back by this. "It can't be that bad," he insisted.

"No," I sighed, "It's bad. I'm sorry. I can't battle you."

Tristan sighed a little wistfully, but then seemed to brighten up. "Maybe I could help you battle instead."

"Ye-What?" I looked at him, my eyes opened wide in shock. It didn't seem to matter anymore that the both of us liked each other in a romantic sense.

"Or, or is that too much…?" Tristan turned away, red.

Tristan really wanted to help me. Not just on helping my project, but battling too? Where was this going?

"Uh, no, I don't mind," I began reluctantly, "So…"

Tristan turned towards me. "Y-you mean-"

"Yeah," I cut him off quickly, "You can help me."

"Oh, great!" He said with relief. "Is this Friday afternoon after work okay? Usually, all of us battle each other during then."

"You mean," I began, trying to figure out what he meant by _all of us_, "You all battle each other after work on Fridays?"

He nodded. "It's something we all like to do for fun. Sometimes, we have double battles and the likes. Sometimes, we all bring along some family members, like Fyre, who brings his family to train his children. It's a lot of fun."

I smiled; it did sound like a lot of fun, even if my battling skills were terrible.

The grandfather clock rang ten times, and the both of us looked at it. It was ten in the morning. A heavy silence hung over us.

I let out a big sigh, the tension from the heavy silence outside of my body. "Anyways, I should continue working."

"I-I have to finish sorting some books," Tristan explained as he started to walk out of the room, "That's what I was doing before you and Tierra came in anyways."

"Oh, of course," I said as I began taking a seat at my desk.

"If you need any help, don't hesitate to call me over."

I nodded at him, and as he walked out of the room, I picked up my pen and started working.

_Let's start this, shall we?_

I looked at the book I had opened. It was a medieval history textbook, though it was an old edition, about sixty years old. I flipped to the contents, noticing that the chapters were sorted by major events.

"Chapter Forty-Five: The Rise of King Gawain and Queen Regan," I read softly to myself. Perhaps I would need to start here?

I flipped to its page number, and started reading.

_"Prince Gawain became King Gawain of Penn Kingdom at the young age of eighteen, marrying the Gardevoir Regan, a documented daughter of two peasants in the kingdom…"_

I sighed, skimming through the next few pages, wondering if I would learn anything essential about Vera today. From what I could tell with my eyes, I already knew all of the information the book had. Thanks to many years of trained reading, I could skim quickly through books like lightning, understanding if the book I held was worth completely digesting.

_Maybe you're just being too impatient_, I thought. _After all, it's only the first day of work. You only have three books. Chances of you finding something important about Vera are slim. Give it some time and you'll learn something important about her._

Right. Everything needed to take time. If I was patient, and if I kept working hard, I was sure to find something, even if these three books didn't have anything I was looking for. Most books were not worth reading after all, as I learned as a school student that out of every ten books I read, only one book would be truly worth my time.


	4. Progress

Author's Note: Anyone wondering how the main characters' names are pronounced? Ivona is pronounced _Eye-Vo-Nah_. Tristan is pronounced a little differently, _Trist-ahn_. In the end, it doesn't matter so much but I felt like adding that since that's how I pronounce their names.

I realize how many characters I have starting to come into play. That means I have to start switching character viewpoints just to get some certain points across so what I'll do is label each of the character thoughts with their names underlined. I can't say they'll all be in first person or third person, it just varies.

And another warning: Lots of words and history notes to be in this chapter (of course, Pokémon history. I had a fun time writing them up!)

Anyways, enjoy! That was a short author's note.

* * *

Vera

_Vera knew she was happy today._

_"Everyone, today you're going to learn how to battle!" Tammy said happily. She knew everyone was waiting for this day._

_ "I'm not going to be your guardian forever," Tammy told her seven Pokémon, "One day, you guys are going to grow older and you are all going to evolve. It's my job to make sure all of you are strong enough to face this world out there."_

_ "Right!" Everyone agreed._

_ "So today, I'm going to start showing you the basics of battling!"_

_ Vera was especially happy for today. She would finally learn how to battle, and when she had battled enough, she would grow stronger._

_ "Who wants to volunteer?" Tammy asked._

_ "I will!" Mandy ran up to her, excited._

_ "Okay, now everyone needs to listen carefully here." Tammy began. "Like I told you before, there are sixteen types of Pokémon: Grass, Fire, Water, Normal, Flying, Bug, Rock, Fighting, Steel, Dragon, Ice, Electric, Ground, Psychic, Ghost, Poison, and Dark. You all know what types you are. Because each and every Pokémon has their own type, they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Mandy," Tammy pointed to the excited Charmander, "is a Fire-type. That means she has an advantage over Bug, Grass, Ice, and Steel Types."_

_ Here, Mandy cheered. "Whoop!"_

_ "But," Tammy said in a warning tone, "Mandy is also weak to Ground, Rock, and Water Types. Also, Mandy won't be able to do much damage with Fire-Type moves towards Dragon, Fire, Rock or Water Types."_

_ To this, Mandy laughed, embarrassed. Ian snickered._

_ "Now," Tammy said, her voice cheery once more, "Being a Blissey, I'm a Normal-Type Pokémon. Normal Types don't have any advantages, but there is one disadvantage, and it's that Fighting-Types have an advantage. With Normal-Type moves, I can't do much damage using Normal-Type moves towards any Fighting-Type Pokémon unless I have a move that will be effective enough to hit them. Also, Normal-Type Pokémon are never affected by Ghost-Type Pokémon._

_ "There are also three damage categories for all types of moves. There are physical moves, in which you physically attack someone, special moves, in which you attack someone without making physical contact, and status moves, which don't do any damage but it can help boost a certain stat, change weather conditions, or cause status benefits._

_ "Now, let's start a demo battle!" Tammy said and turned towards Mandy. "This is your first battle, so give it all you got. I'll be easy on you, so no worries. You have the first move."_

_ "Okay!" Mandy yelled happily. "I'll start with Ember!"_

_ Small orange embers started forming from Mandy's mouth as she began aiming for Tammy. Without hesitation, Tammy set up a golden-yellow barrier as the small embers began to hit it._

_ "What? It didn't get to you at all!" Mandy protested, surprised._

_ "It's called Light Screen," Tammy helpfully explained. "It's a Psychic-Type Status move that halves the damage of special moves. In this case, because you used Ember, I was able to take only half of your damage using this barrier."_

_ "Then how about this! Scratch!" Mandy yelled as she started charging towards Tammy, preparing the attack._

_ Tammy simply stood there as she let Mandy charge into her._

_ Everyone gasped at the direct hit._

_ Tammy simply stood there, smiling at Mandy. "That's quite a powerful Scratch you got there, much like yourself. Now, it's my turn! Egg Bomb!"_

_ A light Egg Bomb hit Mandy squarely in the stomach. Once the smoke had cleared, Mandy was lying on the ground, struggling to get up._

_ "Battle off!" Tammy said loudly. "You did a good demonstration for everyone."_

_ "But…" Mandy looked down sadly, "I didn't do much damage."_

_ "It's alright," Tammy said with her encouraging voice, "You just started battling. In fact, everyone standing here is starting to battle today. Whenever you start something, you're not so strong in the beginning, but if you keep working at it, one day, you'll surely become much stronger than the day you first started battling."_

_ Mandy sighed, and then nodded, knowing Tammy was right. "Okay."_

_ "Now, why don't we have everyone practice battling with each other?" Tammy said to everyone. "You'll all have a chance to battle each other today! So, let's start this way! I'll have you pair up with one another. Everyone will get five minutes to battle each other. When I ring the bell, I want you to switch to different battle partners. This way, everyone will battle with each other for five minutes to get a taste of battling different types."_

_ "Okay!" everyone replied in unison._

_ Vera found herself facing across Emily. "Let's make our first battle a good one!"_

_ "Right!" Emily agreed._

_ Tammy rang the bell._

_ "You can start," Emily offered. _

_ "Okay, Confusion!" Vera tried to use her mental powers to lift Emily up from the ground._

_ "It's not quite strong enough yet," Emily said with an excited smile, resisting the urge of being lifted up in the air, "Tackle!" Emily ran towards Vera with as much strength as she could gather._

_ Vera continued battling, strengthening her mind as she wanted to perfect Confusion while Emily continued with Tackle. Before Vera knew it, she had switched battling partners and found her mind strengthening against each opponent. It seemed hard in the beginning, but as she worked on her moves more, she found herself more comfortable with using her entire body to battle against someone else._

_ "Alright guys," Tammy said to everyone, "That's enough battling for now. We'll have a break and then I'll be teaching you about which types are effective against others."_

_ Undoubtedly, Vera knew she was happy today. _

_ Little did she and her friends know that they were taking their beginning steps towards a journey that would last for a long time._

~present day~

Two things annoyed the Gardevoir: Ivona, and the annoying Ditto who kept chatting away.

They were walking in the underground tunnels, heading their way towards the Lair.

"Seriously," the Gardevoir's companion, the Ditto still disguised as Scizor, continued rambling on, "I still don't understand what you see in that Ivona Pokémon."

"Like I said before, it's because you're not a Psychic-Type Pokémon that you can't see anything special about her," the Gardevoir replied.

"But-"

"Will you just _shut up_?" she was clearly annoyed by now. "We're almost near the Lair, in case you haven't noticed."

Her companion grumbled incomprehensively as she opened old Gothic double doors. She recognized the familiar dim light of weak candles that hung from above the ceiling, and the fallen angel theme of the Lair. It wasn't clean, being very dusty. The air had a stale, musty smell. There was old furniture around the room, and Joltik webs strung about the corners of the walls and tables. There were no windows to welcome the sunlight from above.

"Well, well. If it isn't Charisma and Trickster," a familiar, deep and charming voice called from the dark depths of the Lair. From the dark, a heart-breakingly handsome Blaziken started walking into the dim light.

"Oh, it's been a while, _Romeo_," she replied, unfazed by his charms.

"Tell me, what did you come back for? You're supposed to be watching the Cloisters Park from above. Or was it for _moi_?" He laughed to himself.

"We have a new neighbor," the Trickster the Ditto filled in as it walked towards a sofa, "Apparently, she's some Pokémon who bothers Charisma here."

"Hmph," Charisma scoffed at Trickster, "Like me, she's a Gardevoir. She might actually be a use for us, however."

"Another Gardevoir?" Romeo laughed. "I don't think _he _will be any more impressed, _ma chérie_."

"If you were a Psychic-Type, you'd understand," she sighed, "As much as I hate admitting this, she might actually be able to do what Godfather wants."

"So that means she can do what you can't?"

Charisma sighed, hoping to keep her cool. "Yes."

"Did you just see her today?" he continued.

"Yes," she stretched out her arms, "I was spying at the Cloisters Private Library from a tree when I saw her from the office window. I could instantly tell from my intuition that there was something about her."

"If you came here just to tell me that," Romeo began, "Then that must mean it's something serious. Even for you."

"Frankly speaking, I'm jealous. She might not be able to see the future as a Gardevoir like I can, but," she paused, the rage building up inside her. She breathed one more time, wanting to get it outside of her body. "She might be able to create the black hole that Godfather wants."

Trickster laughed. "So that's what's bothering you! Jeez, you pretend you're so cool and beautiful and charming, but inside you really are just a jealous, raging Pokémon!"

Charisma ignored Trickster's comment. "In any case, she could prove useful to us."

Romeo sighed. "It's true that Godfather has tried to force you to create a black hole. It never worked."

Charisma was quiet. _I was always mad that I couldn't make Godfather any happier. He calls my ability to see the future useless._

"Well, it shouldn't matter too much," Romeo dismissed, and then said in a softer tone, "Even if you can never create a black hole Godfather wants, I'm still here for you."

"Shut up," she said harshly, "Our relationship from the past has nothing to do with what's going on now."

Trickster laughed quietly. "Anyways, Charisma. You said you had a plan, didn't you?"

"I don't want to act on that plan too quickly," she said to him, "I want to give it some more time. You see," she looked directly at Romeo in the eyes, "Tristan might have a part in this too."

"Ah, I see. Tristan, your ex-boyfriend. Your old flame," Romeo said with a soft smile.

"In any case, it's much too early to start acting," Charisma said curtly, "I'm going to go back to observe some more about her."

"Leaving already?"

"Hey, I'm right here," Trickster stretched its Scizor legs out on the sofa, "If you two are going to start on your romance fest, get a room. The whole time I've been here, I've been hearing Romeo talking to you with his goo-goo eyes and I've had enough of it."

"Hah," Charisma scoffed, "As if." Charisma headed for the entrance. "Let Trickster stay with you. Trickster has only been an annoying dunce ever since you told me Trickster had to stick with me."

"Annoying dunce my ass," Trickster countered, and then, "Oi, don't forget that I still want that battle!"

"Another time," Charisma snapped as she opened the old door.

"Come back if you can, will you?" she heard Romeo's voice call out from behind.

She didn't respond as she closed the door behind her.

Ivona

I heard the grandfather clock ring six times. It only meant that it was six, and that the day was over.

I sighed as I heard Tristan walk into the office.

"You couldn't find anything today?" Tristan asked, smiling at me empathetically.

"No," I replied a little sadly, "But that's okay. Even though you got me nearly twenty books today I found nothing, but I'll be patient enough so that one day I'll find something. And then, someday even further, I'll figure out the truth behind the legendary Vera."

Tristan sighed. "I wish I could've helped a little more."

I felt my heart skip a beat. Tristan was so kind; I had never seen any man like this. "Don't worry about it. I'll continue reading these two books tomorrow. I was hoping to read them today but it looks like I'll have to wait for tomorrow."

"Actually, you're free to bring those books home," Tristan explained, his body half-turned towards me. "Y-you know, as long as you bring them back eventually." He finished his last few words with haste.

"Ah, thank you," I said, unsure how to reply to his nervousness. A silence quietly loomed over us.

After Avery had entered the library today, no one else came in, so it was just me and Tristan. For the most part, we kept silent after our conversation after Avery had left. Surprisingly, I was absorbed in my work for the most part. Despite that, whenever Tristan came in the office to deliver a new batch of books every once in a while, he seemed slightly nervous, which made me nervous. I told myself I would just treat him as a good friend, a good coworker. He wasn't my boyfriend in any way. Yet, there was no denying that I still admired him from afar, and Tristan seemed to reciprocate the same feelings.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "I'll be packing up now. And I'll return the books tomorrow, so don't worry about it."

"Alright," he said as he walked over to his desk to pack up his things.

"Oh, and thanks for the help today," I added, "You didn't need to help me. In fact, you don't have to at all."

"It's nothing," Tristan replied, "I just want to help you just because."

Hearing this, I stopped in the middle of packing up and felt myself turning red.

"Anyways," I said, wanting to move on, making myself move a book into my tote bag, "Does anyone come here to lock up the library?"

"Joey usually does that," Tristan said as he finished packing up his briefcase. "He has the main set of keys. Normally, I leave the library before Joey comes and then he locks it after I leave."

"Oh, okay." By now, I had finished packing up my things.

Tristan turned off the lights in the office, and together, we walked out of the library into the park. The sun was softly setting, glowing in a cotton-candy-colored sky. The wind was gently blowing, making me feel a little more at ease next to Tristan.

I turned towards Tristan and said to him, "So I'll be seeing you tomorrow then."

"Oh, yeah, t-tomorrow," he replied as he turned towards me.

"Have a good night," I said to him with the friendliest smile I could muster.

"You too."

By the time I had arrived back at my apartment, the sun had set and twilight fell upon the sky. I opened up my soup pot I had prepared soup in from the previous night and quickly had my dinner. I wanted to read over all of my notes and make small notes for myself to do.

_That's right_, I thought, _I want to reread my notes, and maybe make small jottings along the side. Then, I have to remember for tomorrow that I should probably head to work early to check out the museum itself so I can get familiar with the artifacts there. And I should get personally acquainted with the other staff members so that I know what to expect of them._

Sitting on my desk, I took out the books from my tote bag and my main notebook containing my notes on Vera. I opened my notebook and began reading.

"_Vera the Legendary Gardevoir is famous for being a woman warrior who saved her kingdom, Penn Kingdom, in Northern Delonia, in one of the most sexist time periods in history. From only four sources (there have only been four found so far), she is listed as the long-lost undocumented daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan. The list below provides all examples of Vera being the undocumented daughter._

_Source: a scholar's scrolls (c. 1185): "Vera is the only woman Pokémon in history to be called Legendary, as she is the unrecorded daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan who saved her Kingdom from the invading evil Psychic-Type Pokémon simply referred to as 'New King'."  
^the following comes from _Antonio's Scrolls, Scroll 7 _of_ "Famous Historical Pokémon Figures" _(Antonio is a famous Pokémon historian-scholar of the 12__th__ Century)_

_Source: a maiden's diary (c. 1022): "I am only a woman of forty-three years, and I still remember nearly twenty-two years ago when the villagers all proclaimed that the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan had come to save the Kingdom with her six allies. She was said to bring Pokémon who ruled of Fire-Flying, Grass-Ground, Water, Dragon-Flying, Electricity, and Ground-Steel Types to help defeat whom we all had to call the New King. Was it such a miracle when she saved the Kingdom and rightfully took her throne back!"  
^the following comes from _A Maiden's Diary of the 11th Century, _supposedly orally spoken by a maiden of the Kingdom while a servant wrote down her words._

_Source: a tablet of the ruins, known as "Tablet of Vera": This tablet contains an image of Vera the Gardevoir holding an unidentified object into the sky where a sphere shines. Below her are what is assumed to be citizens of Penn Kingdom. The sphere may be assumed to be the sun, or the moon. Some also speculate it might be a black hole. On the tablet, there is small text, reading "To Vera the Legendary Gardevoir, the lost daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan, who saved the Kingdom from the wrath of the New King."  
^Explorer and Archaeologist Bens Kamex (Blastoise) found this tablet in the Penn Kingdom Ruins during the 1912 Penn Kingdom Ruins expedition. It is estimated to be made in 1000._

_Source: King Gawain's record keeper's diaries: "There was a rumor going around the castle that King Gawain has a daughter, though Queen Regan has denied this fact repeatedly even though there were obvious signs. However, none of us have ever seen the child itself, though many don't deny the fact that there was a baby Ralts born from the two."  
^the following comes from the series of _Penn Kingdom Castle Records: The Notes of Record Keeper Manson. _Manson kept records of daily life around the Penn Castle from gossip to important announcements._

_This second list below provide sources arguing that Vera is not the daughter of King Gawain/Queen Regan._

_Source: _Penn Kingdom Census Records_: There is no indication of Vera ever being born in the census records of Penn Kingdom._

_Source: _Unknown Document, thought to be written by Vera the Gardevoir herself: _This document is tattered and ripped, with Vera's name signed at the bottom of the document. The following is the readable, identified text: "…I am not King Gawain's rightful…Queen Regan was not my…I was only told by others that I looked…Vera the Gardevoir."  
^past historians have questioned the legitimacy of the document. Did Vera really write this? Bens Kamex discovered this tattered document in the 1912 expedition to Penn Kingdom Ruins along with the tablet._

_Source: _Tomb of Devin the Gallade, a supposedly honorary knight of Penn Kingdom serving for King Gawain: _The tomb lies near the Penn Kingdom Ruins, close to the West River. The tomb is inscribed with the following text: "Vera the Gardevoir is not King Gawain's daughter. She is…of…and…"  
^Bens Kamex discovered this tomb in the 1912 expedition to Penn Kingdom Ruins with the tablet/tattered Unknown Document.  
_

_ "Some questions/things to consider:_

_-Why was Vera the Gardevoir able to save the Penn Kingdom in one of the most sexist time periods?_

_-Is Vera truly the daughter of King Gawain/Queen Regan?_

_-If not, why would she claim to be their daughter? (Or, what if she never said she was their daughter in the first place?)_

_-Why was the tomb of Devin the Gallade (honorary knight of Penn Kingdom) inscribed with text saying that Vera isn't King Gawain's daughter? Could Devin the Gallade have known something about Vera?_

_-Question the legitimacy of the handwritten document that Vera supposedly wrote on (see source 2 of the second list)_

_-Build a biography of Vera the Gardevoir (if you even find enough information!)_

_Known facts about King Gawain – took over Penn Kingdom when he was 18, ruled over the kingdom with his wife (Queen Regan) who was a commoner_

_Known facts about Queen Regan – was not born of royalty (was a commoner)"_

Well, that was all I had. Disappointingly enough, all of the books I had looked up today had nothing new about Vera the Gardevoir.

I sighed loudly to myself. "Jeez, of all those books you would think I would find something but no! I get nothing new… Even after reading nearly twenty books, not even _one_ helps…"

I opened my other books and began reading them. Everything was so blurry, it was like walking through a dense mass of fog in which you had no guide to help you wherever you needed. I remembered that no one had bothered studying about Medieval History because there was barely any information of it. As far as all Pokémon knew about Medieval History, it was their architecture and how commoners lived, but nothing on royalty on how they lived. Or how Vera the Gardevoir came to be.

Soon, I found myself slowly drifting off to sleep on my desk, tired from reading over the same passages, which didn't have anything new to contribute to my notes.

I woke up in the morning listening to an echoing bell tower ring six times. I remembered that every morning, a bell tower would ring starting at six in the morning to indicate a new day. It meant there would be three hours before I had to go to work.

And then, I remembered. I had many things to do.

I stood up from my desk, lazily stretching my arms out. I was then reminded of all of my unpacked boxes. I had a blanket laid on the floor filled with certain books of my own

Sighing, I stretched and went to the bathroom to wash my face. _It could be worse, _I thought, _Give yourself some more time and you'll get something worthwhile._

By the time I had reached the museum entrance, it was seven. Joey was surprised to see me come early.

"Ivona, isn't that you? What are you doing here?" He asked as he opened the entrance to the museum.

"Coming to work early," I said.

"Early?" Joey asked, confused.

"Why not?" I asked.

"No, nothing," Joey said as we walked in the building, "No one ever comes here this early except for Fyre sometimes. The security doesn't really get here until around seven-thirty."

"Oh." I really had come early.

"Well, since you're here, want to see something cool?"

"Sure," I replied, surprised he had asked me this so frankly.

"Alright, so you know how yesterday, I showed you that I could use Icy Wind to clean the floor?"

I nodded.

"Well, I can control the wind well enough to wash windows! That way I won't ever have to use any of those ragged cheese cloths."

"That's… amazing." I commented.

"You'll be even more amazed when you see it! I practiced it at home with my wife using our apartment windows, see," Joey said as he walked over to a window near the entrance.

"Here goes!" Joey stood up, straight, and started forming white crystalline snowflakes between his hands. Slowly and beautifully, the tiny crystal snowflakes rubbed against the window, swiping off its dust. They seemed soft enough to melt in your hand, and yet they also looked hard enough to not melt when they touched upon the window surface.

I stared at his beautiful move. It looked almost as good enough as a Pokémon Contest, that would've definitely won appeal points. At least, it looked like it. I wasn't a Pokémon Contest Judge by any means, and I didn't pay attention to contests that often, but what Joey had just showed me was unusually beautiful.

"I wish I could do that," I thought to myself aloud.

"Actually, since you're a Gardevoir, you can learn that move."

Realizing he had heard me talk, I turned red with embarrassment, laughing nervously. "That wasn't supposed to come out."

"Doesn't matter," Joey had a jolly smile on his face. "You can still learn the move. At least, I think all Gardevoir can learn the move. How about this Friday afternoon during our weekly battle sessions?"

"Uh, I don't mind." I replied, putting on a smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I would at least have a full set of moves.

"Oh, if it isn't Ivona," another voice said from behind. I turned around to find Marlene, the Weavile, heading into the museum from the entrance.

"Oh, Marlene," I noticed.

"You're here early," she noted.

"I wanted to look around the museum, that's why," I said to her, "I was busy working yesterday so I couldn't look around. So I thought I could do that in the morning."

"Sounds good," she replied, and then seemed to remember something. "You're studying about Vera the Gardevoir, right?"

I looked at Marlene, surprised. "How did you know?"

"You can thank Avery," she smiled warmly, "He's the most talkative of us all here. So all of us found out what your project is the minute Avery started rambling on about it."

"Oh." Knowing that Avery seemed like an extroverted Pokémon, I should've at least seen something like this coming.

"Anyways," she continued, "There is an interesting set of paintings up on the second floor where the art gallery is. I have a small feeling that they might have to do something with Vera the Gardevoir."

"A set of paintings…?"

"Yeah. This set of paintings were donated to this museum by the archeologist Bens Kamex himself," she continued, "Also found in the 1912 Expedition to Penn Kingdom Ruins. They aren't very well-known at all. Nothing has been written about them. Maybe you might be able to find something."

"A set of paintings discovered by Bens Kamex himself?" This would have to be interesting. The 1912 Expedition was a famous expedition to Penn Kingdom Ruins led by famous Bens Kamex himself. He had made numerous famous discoveries being an archaeologist and an explorer. There werr plenty of artifacts he found, and he made most of his theories public. But what always strange was that he never revealed so much about the Penn Kingdom Ruins expedition. He only made the Tablet of Vera public, as well as the tattered document supposedly handwritten by Vera herself and the tombstone of Devin the Gallade. Everything else was blurry about his expedition.

"Alright, let's go then." I agreed.

"I'll see you around Ivona!" Joey waved goodbye to me. "You too Marlene!"

The two of us said our small goodbyes as we made our way to the second floor. Finally, maybe I would get some kind of a lead to solving my mystery.


	5. The Paintings

_The orphanage wasn't very rich, and yet, Tammy somehow managed to get enough food and needs for all of the Pokémon to live decently. Vera once crept out of her nest one night to see a cloaked Pokémon secretly handing Tammy a small bag of coins. She heard him quietly whispering to her that he would be back the next time._

_ Vera didn't mean to see that happening. In fact, Shaun said he wanted to get a drink of water, and because everyone else was sleeping was rocks, he asked her to come with him to get a glass of water. Vera agreed, knowing that Shaun was a timid and sensitive Pokémon at heart._

_ So Shaun and Vera quietly crept out of their rooms and silently walked towards the kitchen, until they saw a small light. They hid behind the shadows of the hallway, hoping they wouldn't get caught._

_ "How is everyone doing?" the cloaked Pokémon asked Tammy. He had a deep, masculine voice._

_ "We're all okay," Tammy whispered. "Is anything going on outside?"_

_ "No," he said quickly, almost sounding troubled, "At least, not yet."_

_ "What do you mean by that?"_

_ "Nothing, nothing," he dismissed her, "Have the Pokémon started learning how to battle yet?"_

_ "They have, but they're still learning."_

_ "So I see." Suddenly, Vera realized his sixth sense kicked in, and he was staring directly at her and Shaun. Tammy turned around to see who he was looking at._

_ "Vera! Shaun! What are you doing up so late?!"_

_ The two Pokémon jolted up, Shaun nearly releasing his electricity out in the air._

_ "I-I j-j-just wanted water," Shaun said timidly, instinctively curling himself up._

_ Vera nervously nodded. "I-it's true. We didn't know you were talking to someone."_

_ Tammy sighed. "Just water?"_

_ The two nodded simultaneously._

_ "Alright," Tammy said in a soothing, gentle voice, "Go back to your nests. I'll get you water soon."_

_ Both Vera and Shaun nodded again, and headed back their nests. Though, Vera couldn't help but feel with her horns that the cloaked Pokémon kept on looking at her, almost as if he was trying to identify who she was. It felt like he was looking into her soul._

_ Later, after the two Pokémon had settled back in their nests, Tammy came in with a bucket of water._

_ "Okay, here's the water," she whispered as Shaun climbed out of his nest, "After this, it's back to bed."_

_ Vera wasn't thirsty herself, but she felt as if she needed a drink of water, so she took a drink. She felt as if the cloaked Pokémon knew exactly who she was, where she came from, and who her parents were. Vera was a bit frightened knowing this, and she definitely needed something to cool her down._

_ When she finished drinking the water, she went back to her nest, and curled up on her side. The cloaked Pokémon she saw unexpectedly scared her, and she wasn't sure how comfortable she would be afterwards._

~present day~

Ivona

When we arrived at the second floor, I noted how beautifully the morning sunlight sifted through the glass-stained windows.

"It's really quite lovely here in the morning," I said to Marlene as she led me around the dozens of paintings.

"Isn't it?" She agreed. "The museum is at its best in the morning, when nearly no one is here. You see the calm tranquility of the building itself, and you almost think that this building has a life, that it's just like us Pokémon. You almost think the building is breathing, and that somehow, even thought it doesn't have senses, it knows where you are."

Her comment slightly spooked me, and yet it seemed all so intriguing. "A building that has life…"

"Well, that's what I think," she said with a resolved and content sigh. "I come here early in the mornings just to enjoy this kind of atmosphere. And, ah, here we are."

Marlene led me to a closed room with unlit studio lights, away from the stained-glass windows. She turned on the lights and I immediately noticed on only one side of the wall a set of eight paintings hanging.

"Are these the paintings?" I pointed to the wall with the eight hanging on the wall.

"Yeah," she responded, "I always had a feeling about these paintings. It looks like you do, too, considering you identified them right off the bat as opposed to the other paintings in the room."

"Maybe," I said, and looked closely at the paintings. "Looking at it as a whole, they all seem to have a similar painting style, so these paintings must have all been painted by the same artist."

The first painting began from the upper-most-left corner. I saw a Gallade, though he wasn't a normal colored Gallade, rather, he was a blue Gallade. A shiny Gallade. He was kneeling down in a certain position in front of a Gallade and Gardevoir, possibly being a king and queen who ruled over the Penn Kingdom when it used to be prosperous. He was most likely an honored knight, one of the many honored knights of Penn Kingdom during the Medieval Ages. Honored knights often had to kneel down to their rulers a certain way, regardless of whatever Pokémon, being that they kneeled down on one leg rather than two legs like most commoners. Of course, certain exceptions were made, like for Pokémon who didn't even have legs, or for birds, but they also had their own way of bowing down to their rulers, articulately documented in various books I had read throughout my studies on medieval history.

The second painting seemed to show the same Gallade standing by a river, next to a giant redwood tree. I couldn't grasp its significance, though maybe that Gallade lived up in the redwood tree considering Gallade had a tradition of living up in trees in general. If this Gallade was an honorary knight, why would he be living in the tree? Honorary knights were provided comforts in Penn Castle. Or, maybe he wasn't an honorary knight at all?

The third painting took place at night with what looked like rain pouring down from the sky, where there was a small basket lying near a doorstep of a building. A Blissey stood over the small basket, holding a small lantern. It seemed to go out of pattern so far, having two paintings of a shiny Gallade and then one painting of a Blissey standing over a basket in a rainy night.

The fourth painting I saw had a group of seven Pokémon: a Ralts, a Charmander, a Turtwig, an Oshawott, a Bagon, a Mareep, and a Drilbur. They were all standing in front of a building, the same one from the third painting where the Blissey found a small basket on the doorsteps. They all seemed truly happy, and I guessed that this was the home of these seven un-evolved Pokémon as well as that Blissey.

The fifth painting was right under the first painting, and it triggered a deep memory of my past. The building was being burned in a strange, blue-magenta fire, with black shadows over it. And there was no Pokémon to be seen in the picture.

_Those look like the same black shadows that took away your parents…_

_Cool it! _I thought to myself loudly. _You're at a museum, no one wants to see you breaking down because of some painting that reminds you of how your parents died!_

I breathed, wanting to get the anxiety out of myself. I had to keep examining the paintings. I was at work. I couldn't think about how my parents died at work. I could do that later. Surprisingly, Marlene didn't seem to notice anything unsteady about myself, though I was expecting her sharp senses to kick in. Maybe she pretended not to notice at all.

Moving on, I saw the sixth painting, seeing a Charizard, a Samurott, and an Ampharos battling the same black shadows. I began thinking that perhaps these were the Pokémon from the fourth painting, and that they had evolved into their respective final stages. Maybe they had survived the strange fire? It looked as if they were fighting back for revenge against the fire that took away their home.

Then, I saw the seventh painting. I knew I had hit upon something. In the picture, there was a Gardevoir battling a mysterious, humanoid shape of a Pokémon. There was no doubt; it was Vera the Gardevoir. This must have been an image of her battling that mysterious, so-called "evil" Psychic-Type Pokémon. It must've been the same Psychic-Type Pokémon that took over Penn Kingdom. It was so blatant; you didn't even need to be an expert in history to see this obvious historical figure.

"It's obvious that this is Vera," I commented to Marlene, "Has anyone ever noticed this?"

"Only the staff here has," Marlene answered, "I assumed that you knew this room was off-limits to the public."

"I see," I replied, "So the public isn't allowed here. Hence why this isn't well known. But," I turned to Marlene, "Why is it off-limits here?"

"You know Levine, don't you?"

"The Zoroark?"

"Yeah. He's the oldest museum worker here. He met Bens Kamex when he discovered these paintings. Bens Kamex specifically requested that these paintings be locked up in this room away from windows, and the museum complied."

"But why would he want to do that?"

Marlene shrugged. "It beats me. But it definitely means that he was trying to hide something from the public. That's why only we know about it. This reminds me, you do realize that now that you know about this, you have to keep this a secret."

I felt uncomfortable with agreeing. I became a historian to help expose certain truths from history for the future generation for this world. That meant discoveries were meant to be public so that they knew about it. All Pokémon have a right to understand history, and historians were supposed to help them understand it.

But then again, I thought about my job. I couldn't risk losing my job at all, considering how much I liked my new job, even if Tristan was in the way.

"Understood," I said with a reluctant sigh. "It seems to go against my code of ethics, however."

Marlene could sense my uncomfortable decision. "I know you don't seem to like this, but you'd better not tell anyone. If Levine finds out that someone who doesn't work here knows about this, he'll go hectic."

"Then why does Levine act like he's in charge of the paintings? I thought Fyre was the boss here."

"It's true," she said, "But Fyre is with Levine on this one. In fact, he respects Levine's request so that's why this room is locked to the public."

"Oh." I sighed. "Alright. I'll keep it a secret."

I went to look at the last painting. It didn't seem so revealing about anything. It was simply a painting of Penn Kingdom, with what looked like the sun shining over it. I took this as an interpretation that the kingdom had been restored.

_Which reminds me,_ I thought, _Penn Kingdom was said to be prosperous after Vera defeated the evil force, and yet, in another legend, Penn Kingdom had mysteriously been swallowed in a day. There are speculations that the black hole Vera created had come back and swallowed the kingdom in whole, though I'm not sure how relevant this is __to Vera herself._

"So," I began, "Because no one is allowed here, no one has written anything about it? Not even Bens Kamex himself?"

"No, not that I know of," she replied, "Levine might know something, though."

I made a mental note of myself to ask Levine at a later time about the paintings.

"Well, I owe you one, since you showed me these paintings," I said to Marlene as I took out my notebook and a pen, "These will definitely help me. Oh, and," I looked at Marlene, "If Bens Kamex discovered these, was there ever a mention about what year these paintings were made?"

Marlene looked thoughtful. "I don't know for sure, but based on my senses, I would say these paintings were made around the eleventh century. Around the same time as Vera the Gardevoir supposedly lived. Actually, I have a complete analysis of these paintings in my office. Would you like a copy?"

"Yeah, that would definitely help," I replied, "Thanks."

"Of course," she said as she began walking out of the room.

"By the way," I said quickly as she started leaving the room, "Would it be alright if I stayed here in this room to observe some more?"

"I think it's alright," she answered, "As long it's by nine. Nine is when visitors start coming in."

"Alright, thanks." It meant I had almost two hours of staying in the room to examine the paintings.

"Of course," she replied, "I'll be back with the copy of the analysis later."

_Okay_, I thought, _The books from last night might've not helped, but this is definitely a big jump._

Soon, I found myself taking detailed notes of each painting. Overall, they all seemed to tell a story of some sort, though I couldn't tell what part the shiny Gallade had in the story. Was he somehow connected to Vera? It didn't seem to make much sense, considering that he didn't even appear in the later paintings with Vera.

And maybe, just maybe, that Ralts in the fourth painting was Vera herself. I couldn't be too sure, but it was possible that if Vera really was the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan, she probably wasn't raised in a castle, but instead, at another place away from the castle. It had to be an orphanage of some sort. If she had been raised in a castle, there would've been something indicating that she really was of royal heir.

I looked closely at the first painting. The king and queen were ambiguously drawn, and it was hard to closely tell if they were King Gawain and Queen Regan. After all, from the birth of Penn Kingdom, all of its kings and queens and been Gallade and Gardevoir. It seemed almost out of the question to say that the king and queen in the painting really was King Gawain and Queen Regan. I would also have to look at the _Penn Kingdom Census Records_, and I was sure Tristan had brought me a copy of that book yesterday.

I sighed aloud. "Well, at least I've got some kind of a lead now. I guess touring around the museum and getting personally acquainted with the rest of the staff will have to wait."

Later, after diving myself into a huge mess of theories and speculations about the paintings, I signed into work and made my way to the library. Marlene had given me a copy of the analysis, to which I would make myself read later, which I hope would somehow clear up some of my speculation. I didn't want to drown among all of the theories and speculations.

When I looked at the entrance, I found Tristan about to open the door.

"Oh, Ivona!" he greeted me happily as I began walking up the steps, "I was thinking…"

_Oh, Arceus, what are you thinking of? I hope it's not what I think it is…_

"…If you could show me a copy of your notes so far, so that I know what books will be helpful and what won't be. I realized yesterday night that I really wasn't so much of a help considering that most of the books I chose didn't help you."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" I exclaimed with an unnatural high-pitched voice. "It's alright, things like this are meant to take time."

He looked at me, slightly confused. "A-are you alright?"

"Oh, y-yeah," I replied as coolly as I could. It probably sounded a lot more pathetic than I thought it sounded. "I'm alright. Please don't worry about me."

Tristan reluctantly looked away. "I-If you say so."

Inside, I started feeling nervous again. _What's with you?! You promised yourself you would treat Tristan as a coworker, as a friend! Why are you so nervous about him?!_

I sighed to myself as I continued walking up the stairs to the library.

"A-anyways, Tristan," I began, "I have a couple of things to ask of you, if you don't mind."

"Oh, no, of course," he replied, hearing some anxiety in his voice.

"I need to look at the _Penn Kingdom Census Records_ again, and I'm not quite sure where that book went," I said as I arrived at the door to the library.

"Okay, I can get that book," he said, and then made a polite bow to me, "You can go in first."

I felt myself slightly turning red as he let me enter the door. I wouldn't let myself be distracted because he let me in first. And yet, I couldn't help but feel my heart beat a little quicker at his courteous actions.

"Also," I continued, trying to brush my feelings about Tristan away, "Are there any rare books about Bens Kamex?"

"Oh, you mean the famous archaeologist and explorer?" He asked as he closed the door.

I nodded. "I've read several books about him, and they've listed all of his accomplishments, his biography, and whatnot. But I haven't read in any of his books about the 1912 Expedition to the Penn Kingdom Ruins. There's barely any information about it."

"Actually," Tristan looked as if he was trying to remember something, "We do have in this library an archive of Bens Kamex's journals."

"Really?"

"Yes, I think so," he replied, "I do remember getting myself reading one of his volumes the first day I worked here." He turned towards me. "In fact, I think he might have something about that expedition you're talking about. I don't think I read it, though." Here, he sighed, sounding disappointed at himself. "I wish I had remembered that."

"Eh, Tristan, don't worry about it," I said, not wanting him feeling disappointed about himself. "Today's only my second day here, and like I said, it's meant to take time to make discoveries."

"Right," he answered, though he didn't seem so relieved.

"And, besides that," I continued, wanting to tell him that I had more things to ask of him, "Do you have any archives of newspapers?"

"We do. They're upstairs, though."

"Oh, that's fine. I just need to look through certain articles about Bens Kamex and the 1912 Expedition. There must be something in those articles." I looked into my tote bag and brought out my notebook. "By the way, since you said you wanted to read my notes, you can read this. The first few pages have my notes on whether or not Vera the Gardevoir was truly the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan. The next few pages are some of my theories and speculations."

"O-okay," he said as he took the notebook.

We headed towards the office as I set down my tote bag. Tristan set down his briefcase, and I remembered I had to return the books I had taken home last night.

"And," I said as I brought out the books, "Here are the books I took home last night. They weren't much of a help, but I appreciate that you let me take them home."

"Of course," he said as he turned around from his desk. Then, our eyes met each others'.

For a split second, we didn't want to look away from each other. We were here, alone, standing in the office, and our red eyes seemed locked together. I already knew that we were falling in love, and we were falling deeper in love the more we kept our gaze together.

Abruptly, I looked away, to my own surprise. "Anyways," I said, not sure how nervous I sounded in front of Tristan, "Let's go upstairs to get the books, shall we?"

"O-oh, yeah," Tristan said. He sounded surprised, like me. "Let's go."

As we walked together out of the office, I heard a small part of me was protesting that I shouldn't have moved my gaze away from Tristan's. I tried to rebut, saying that Tristan was not my lover, and that he was a coworker.

_Honestly, _I thought, _How many times do you need to nail yourself in the head that Tristan is just a freaking __**coworker**__?!_

"You might want to be careful here," Tristan warned me as we arrived at the spiral staircase, "The spiral staircase can make you a bit dizzy if you're not totally focused."

"Okay," I had gotten the message as we started walking up the staircase.

Silence passed as we walked up the stairs. Eventually, Tristan was the one to break it as we arrived at the top.

"Ivona," he began with my name, causing me to feel nervous inside, "While we're upstairs, may I show you the view I told you about yesterday?"

"O-oh," I responded, slightly nervous, "Sure."

"Great!" he said, sounding happy again, as if he was singing, "You'll love the view, I'm sure of it."

I smiled to myself. Hearing his voice made me feel warm all over inside, especially when he was at his most comfortable. I could never get out of my head how musical his voice sounded.

"Follow me," he said with a warm smile as he led me among the bookshelves on the second floor. "We're going up to there, where that cupola is."

I looked around my surroundings, noticing how much shorter the bookshelves seemed to be and how much smaller the second floor was compared to the first. Then, I paid attention to where Tristan was pointing and saw that there was a medium-sized hexagonal cupola at the top of the library. I noticed a wall that had an L-shaped bookshelf-staircase attached to a wall, and it seemed to lead to a trapdoor on the ceiling.

"The view isn't really on the second floor," Tristan went on, "But, it's rather on the rooftop where you can stand right next to the cupola."

"But if it's this high," I began commenting, "It must be a gorgeous view, like you said."

"I promise you," he said, his voice softer now as we began walking up towards the L-shaped stairs to the door on the ceiling.

He opened the trapdoor and went out first, me following behind. I could instantly feel a gentle breeze blowing through.

Tristan offered his hand to me as I struggled getting up onto the roof. I felt even more nervous knowing that our hands would be touching, even though I shouldn't have been taking it so seriously. Like I had reminded myself, Tristan was a _coworker_.

Though I didn't know how much longer that excuse would last.

I breathed as he held my hand and led me up to the roof. As soon as I looked around myself, I felt myself let out a small, but audible gasp.

I could see the entire Cloisters Park, everything from the park's trees to the West River to the tall, radiant buildings that soared to the skies in Midtown Metropolitan. It was still morning, so the rays of the sunlight were still seeable through the puffy, cotton-like clouds. Around me, I could feel the breeze of the wind, a little stronger than before. This was the most exhilarating feeling I had ever felt in such a long time, I almost wanted to hug Tristan in gratitude for showing me such a view.

And then, I realized my hand was still in his. I looked at Tristan, and noticed that he, too, was transfixed by the scene.

"Tristan," I began, looking back at the wonderful view. It was already awkward enough for me that my hand was still in his. "Thank you for showing me this."

Tristan suddenly realized I was talking to him. "O-oh, Ivona." He smiled warmly to me. "Of course. I wanted to show you this anyways."

I felt myself slightly blush. "To be honest, this has been one of the best moments I've had in quite a while. I haven't felt this happy in a long time."

Tristan seemed to blush here, too. "I'm glad I was able to make you this happy."

It was an honest remark. Even though it was my second day at work, this was much better than my life before. I felt much more at ease here, knowing that I wouldn't have men staring at me just because I was a Gardevoir. Moreover, Tristan seemed like a genuine, kind Pokémon. I hadn't seen this kind of genuineness in a long time. I had lost my parents as a young Ralts, and as I grew older, I suffered more as a Kirlia and a Gardevoir. My two friends were the only ones who comforted me during then. I lived in cities and went to school suffering under sexual harassment and bullying.

Already, after I moved to Metropolitan, I felt much better. The atmosphere was much better. I didn't feel uncomfortable or out of place, and no one seemed to mind that I was a Gardevoir. All of my coworkers I had personally met so far, Tierra, Avery, Tristan, Fyre, Marlene, Joey, they were all helpful and they seemed to be some of the most happiest Pokémon I had ever seen, no matter how different personalities were.

I sighed contently, enjoying every second of the moment I could. Soon, I'd be heading back to work, and I thought to myself, _Even if you and Tristan fall in love with each other, what's more important is your job. Therefore, Tristan is not important. Even if you are holding hands with him right now, it won't matter in the future._

Later on, I would realize how much I would regret thinking those words.

* * *

Author's Note:Bah, I tried describing the roof of Gothic Potsdam Library in Germany, because the roof of this library where Ivona and Tristan enjoy the view is almost like the Potsdam Library. I don't think I did a great job with it, but I can't seem to get anything more out of it. Anyways, I added a small romantic moment between them! I've always wanted to write this scene, though I wasn't sure when to add it in. I guess it's in the story now!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! Next chapter will be coming up soon (hopefully, I've got schoolwork to finish). :P


	6. The Diary of Bens Kamex

Author's Note: Changing the story a bit here! Vera won't be in this chapter (or for the next few chapters…) but she'll be back.

* * *

~present day~

Charisma

Charisma giggled quietly to herself. She had been watching the two lovebirds from her tree, well-hidden from the public. She saw that Tristan and Ivona were holding hands on the roof of the library, and there was no doubt: they were in love with each other.

_How interesting_, she thought, _The two haven't known each other for very long, but it's so obvious they're in love with each other._

That meant Tristan had found a new love. Charisma wasn't jealous, by any means. Tristan wasn't worth so much of her time anyways. He was practically a doormat, and she remembered using Tristan as her servant when they were together. She knew this annoyed Tristan, and she took pleasure in this even more. Tristan would never be able to fight for himself, considering that he was too nice to consider talking back to Charisma. He was simply too _weak_, too _shy_, too _polite_. Anyone who was smart enough would know that upon meeting Tristan for the first time, he was a pushover.

On the other hand, Ivona seemed to care enough for Tristan not to treat him like the way Charisma herself did. Because of this, Charisma could tell Tristan genuinely cared for Ivona. This would pose a problem. If Godfather needed Ivona, Tristan wouldn't hesitate to protect her. Charisma knew Tristan was a doormat, but she did have to watch out for Tristan when it came to battling. He was an exceptional battler. His attacks were something to fear. Of course, she could easily bring Trickster and Romeo to help bring Tristan down, but even with those two at her side, she still had to be careful around Tristan. He had plenty of battling strategies that Pokémon needed to watch out for.

"Just wait a little more, Charisma," she told herself softly, "We'll see how this works out…"

Ivona

Eventually, Tristan and I went back into the library. The gorgeous view of the entire park had definitely given me a new feeling. It made me feel calm, and much more relaxed. I had to admit, I felt even more comfortable around Tristan now. It was at that moment that I knew I had a new home, with my new coworkers, with my new city, Metropolitan.

So yes, while I still admired Tristan from afar, I felt much more at ease with him. In fact, the both of us seemed much more at ease with each other. It just seemed out of the picture to be nervous around him now. I could comfortably communicate with Tristan, knowing that we secretly admired each other from afar. It made me happy, knowing I could talk to the one I loved without having to make a fool out of myself by being embarrassed. It didn't stop me from making the occasional blush, but I persevered.

Who would've thought that a beautiful view of the park would make us more at ease with one another?

Back in the library, Tristan had showed me archives of Bens Kamex's journals. I stayed with the journals while Tristan began sifting out newspaper articles about the famous archaeologist-explorer.

"It's amazing how there's the entire collection of Bens Kamex's journals here," I commented.

"It just so happened that Kamex wanted to leave all of them here in this library after he died," Tristan replied helpfully, "I'll be heading over the newspaper archives and tell you if I see anything."

I nodded to him. "Got it."

I went looked carefully over the labeled journals with handwritten titles on the spine. I saw a rather small journal labeled "_1912 Expedition_" and I picked it out, knowing I found something important. I turned to the first page and began reading.

**_Monday, July 1, 1912 – Day 1_**

_ Today begins the expedition at the Penn Kingdom Ruins. I have always had a desire to come here and explore these ruins. It is here where the once-prosperous Penn Kingdom reigned, led by generations of Gallade and Gardevoir. It is also where the historic Vera the Gardevoir saved the kingdom from that evil Psychic-Type, as said in the legend about Vera._

_ I've come to investigate these ruins in hopes of discovering more about the legendary Vera the Gardevoir as well as Penn Kingdom itself. I also want to get a lead on the Psychic-Type Pokémon that supposedly enslaved the entire kingdom. We don't know what Pokémon it was, or where it came from. _

_ I have arrived with my team: my wife, Berenda (Medicham), Morrison, the scientist and doctor (Sandslash), and Simon, another explorer, (Heracross). I will be exploring the northwestern ruins of Penn Kingdom. Berenda will be in charge with the northeastern ruins. Simon is in charge of the rest._

_ We have just settled our tent in the Penn Kingdom Plaza, located conveniently in the center of the Ruins. We are all responsible for bringing back some artifacts and samples for Morrison to test back in his laboratory at the camp as well. I hope that he might be able to find something within these ruins on how Penn Kingdom ended. I have speculated that perhaps the supposed black hole Vera had made to stop the Psychic-Type Pokémon might've somehow come back and swallowed parts of the kingdom. There might be remaining fingerprints of the black hole among the ruins, and with today's technology of the 20__th__ Century, we might have a lead. In other words, we will be making progress on discovering what really happened to Penn Kingdom, and I hope to make progress on discovering something about Vera the Gardevoir and the Psychic-Type Pokémon that took over the kingdom as well._

_ However, I have also heard of rumors of past Pokémon coming here to investigate the ruins, only to never be returned. One example I read was Webster, the Flygon, who came here about a century ago to do some investigations, but never returned back to his home. Another example was Reynolds, the Zangoose, who lived in the 16__th__ Century, but according to records, never came back. Lastly, there was Pendleton, a Zoroark, who was said to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins in the 13__th__ Century, but also was said never to come back. I know from this that I must be careful. I don't feel anything suspicious around here yet, but I mustn't let down my guard._

_ It is getting late. I must go to sleep. Tomorrow shall be a busy day._

**_Tuesday, July 2, 1912 – Day 2_**

_ Not much progress today. All we have so far is a tablet found remarkably intact in the Penn Kingdom Ruins, though we can't say it is an amazing discovery. This only reaffirms the idea that Vera was the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan. The text reads, "To Vera the Legendary Gardevoir, the lost daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan, who saved the Kingdom from the wrath of the New King."_

_ I went to discover the Northwestern Ruins. I have found some old pottery for Morrison to take a look at as well as various samples from buildings. Most of the buildings were chopped off, bits and pieces lying around here and there. It certainly looks like no one has lived here for a long time._

_ I haven't felt anything strange yet either. There isn't anything suspicious I feel._

_ Anyways, I shall head to sleep now. Good night._

**_Wednesday, July 3, 1912 – Day 3_**

_ Finally! I have discovered an interesting artifact. It looks like the tomb of Devin the Gallade, an honorary knight of the Penn Kingdom. It is inscribed as such: "Here lies Devin the Gallade, an Honorary Knight of Penn Kingdom who served under King Gawain and Queen Regan. 950-1002." I can clearly see these words. But near the bottom of the tablet is more text, and parts of the tablet are chipped off. It reads, "Vera the Gardevoir is not King Gawain's daughter. She is…of…and…" This is the first time I have seen an artifact claiming that Vera is not the long-lost daughter! This was definitely worth recording!_

_ Berenda seems to have stumbled upon something interesting as well. She came across a book titled "Penn Kingdom Census Records" to which she found in a building. She speculates that the building she found it in was the home of the official census keeper. It is certainly a help! I would assume that it must have some indication of Devin the Gallade. I would certainly like to find more about this honorary knight. He must have some connection to Vera the Gardevoir, considering that she _is_ mentioned on his grave. _

_ Now, it is getting late. I am tired, so I shall rest soon. Tomorrow, I will definitely look into Devin the Gallade. I must admit, the ruins do look spooky at night, but there is nothing to be too afraid of._

**_Thursday, July 4, 1912 – Day 4_**

_ This morning, I woke up, softly turning pages to _Penn Kingdom Census Records. _I found Devin's record, and like the tombstone says, he was born in 950 and died in 1002. He was apparently born at the same year as King Gawain. It made me wonder what kind of relationship the two had, if they even had any. However, both of them were Gallade so there must be some kind of significance to it. Moreover, Devin was an honorary knight, and honorary knights were traditionally part of the castle. Devin and Gawain might have not known each other since childhood, but at one point, they must have met each other. All honorary knights were inducted into the Honorary Knight Society by the kings and queens themselves. I also must make a note to myself to have the _Penn Kingdom Census Records _rewritten neatly. The edition Berenda has found is surprisingly intact; nonetheless extremely tattered._

_ Afterwards, I went to do some more exploring in the northwestern ruins. I haven't found anything that seems to be interesting at all. I wandered around hoping to find something, and I did find something. It seemed like an entrance to the dungeons of the kingdom, but by the time I had arrived there, the sun was setting so I had to head back to camp. Tomorrow, I shall go back to the dungeons. Maybe I'll find something wondrous there._

_ However, Simon did seem to find something interesting. Among the southern ruins he found a mysterious tapestry. The tapestry was found amid a pile of rubble, and he was glad he had seen a ray of sunlight shine upon that pile of rubble, for if he hadn't, he would've never found it in the first place. The tapestry reads "New King" at the bottom, and in the center, there stands what we believe is the supposed "New King", an unidentifiable Pokémon. In this tapestry, it's got a grayish color. We all believe that the color has been worn out from weathering, so we can't really tell what the New King's true color is. Morrison says he can do some tests on it to find its true color, though with today's technology, the results might not come as quickly as we want._

_ I shall now head to sleep. I am excited to explore the dungeons tomorrow, so I must get a good night's sleep._

**_Friday, July 5, 1912 – Day 5_**

_ I have made a historic discovery today!_

_ I was wandering in the dungeons today (as I promised myself this yesterday), where prisoners were kept. It was, without a doubt, certainly a spooky place to wander through. There were skeletons of dead Pokémon from long, long ago, and the stench in the dungeon was so foul it was nearly impossible to breathe without making a sour face. But it was actually worth it in the end. You see, deep in the dungeons, near the dead end of what I believed to be the center (using my map of the Penn Kingdom) of the dungeons, I saw tiny furs the color of elegant, moonlight-like silver-blue. I carefully picked them up to sample them in Morrison's lab later. And right near the silver-blue furs was a small, chewed-through wooden box of eight paintings! These are eight beautiful paintings, and they all seem to tell a story of some sort. Yes, the paint seems a little worn out, but most colors seem intact. I hope Morrison shall do some analyses on them. Two of them seem slightly out of place. Below, I will list the paintings._

_Painting I: A painting of an honorary knight (blue Gallade) kneeling down before a king and a queen_

_Painting II: A painting of the same Gallade standing next to a river, standing next to a redwood tree_

_Painting III: A painting of a Blissey standing over a basket at night in front of the doorsteps to a building_

_Painting IV: A painting of seven Pokémon standing near the same building from the previous picture: Ralts, Charmander, Turtwig, Oshawott, Bagon, Mareep, Drilbur_

_Painting V: A painting of the building being burned by an unusually colored blue-magenta fire with black shadows in the background_

_Painting VI: A painting of Charizard, Samurott, and Ampharos battling the same black shadows from the previous picture_

_Painting VII: A painting of a Gardevoir battling a humanoid-shaped Pokémon (?) – I would assume it is a Pokémon, though I can't even identify what Pokémon that humanoid-shaped "Pokémon" is_

_Painting VIII: A painting of Penn Kingdom restored, the sun shining over it, resembling peace/prosperity_

_I still don't seem to understand the first two paintings. What does an honorary knight have to do with the legend of Vera the Gardevoir?_

_ I can pretty much say that the rest of the paintings are self-explanatory. I would assume that the Ralts in the fourth painting is Vera the Gardevoir. Her friends, being a Charizard, Samurott, and Ampharos helped her battle the black shadows, presumably. Perhaps the "New King" is that unidentifiable Pokémon, and Vera fought off that "New King" by sealing it in a black hole._

_ As historic as this discovery is, it still leaves many unanswered questions. For example, is Vera truly the daughter of King Gawain and Queen Regan? The tablet we had found earlier on this expedition would say so, and yet, how does she end up in a building with six other Pokémon? Another question that's not even close to being answered is how Penn Kingdom turned into these ruins! _

_ Of course, I am still speculating that they could possibly be the black hole Vera had created, as said in the legends. If a black hole is created, it supposedly rips the fabric of space-time. That said, nothing can escape a black hole once created, but there _is_ a theory out there that if one were to create a black hole (specifically a Gardevoir), s/he should have enough control over that black hole to selectively choose what goes in and what goes out. (The theory of "controlling black holes" comes from a good friend of mine, Dr. Stein (Kadabra), who is currently studying black holes as his specialty.) It seems like such an illogical idea, but it is very possible that something like this might've happened. I am still curious, though. The Creation Trio, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina must somehow have connection to black holes. Wouldn't they be angered at this rip in fabric of space-time? I wouldn't know so well, because I'm not a physicist._

_ I have many more questions unanswered, though writing about them now when it is nearly night time won't get me anywhere. I shall head to sleep now. Nevertheless, I am happy with the discovery of the paintings. I hope Morrison will be able to find something about those silver-blue furs soon._

_ Oh, how tired I am! I shall be heading to sleep. Good night._

**_Saturday, July 6, 1912 – Day 6_**

_ I found something quite unusual today. It is just a piece of paper (literally) and what I read on it was quite something. The piece of paper itself is tattered and looks burned. The text is as follows:_

"…_I am not King Gawain's rightful…Queen Regan was not my…I was only told by others that I looked…Vera the Gardevoir."_

_I am only assuming that from reading this text, Vera is not the daughter of Gawain and Regan. Something like this needs serious questioning. It looks as if it is signed by Vera herself, but none of us knows this. I will have to keep it for the future. I can imagine scholars debating the legitimacy of this piece of paper._

_ Oh, and as for where I found it, I found it in an old, small library in a separate building of the Penn Castle. (In other words, the library was part of Penn Castle Area but in a separate building.) I saw pages of burnt-up books beyond repairing, and this note slipped out between a couple of books._

_ It really isn't much, but it is better than nothing. Knowing this, I shall go to sleep now._

**_Sunday, July 7, 1912 – Day 7_**

_ No one found anything today, so there's nothing new to report tonight. And progress was going so well! Well, I suppose success can't happen every day. _

**_Monday, July 8, 1912 – Day 8_**

_ No new discoveries made today, though I've been starting to feel something odd. I can't quite identify what it is, but it is definitely something. My intuition is telling me to be a bit more wary from now on. Simon has also reported starting to feel something strange. He says, "It feels as though someone is trying to lock me into an eternal nightmare with no end." This alarms me greatly. May Arceus protect us._

**_Tuesday, July 9, 1912 – Day 9_**

_ Again, none of us has discovered anything._

_ But Morrison did finish two experiments. He has confirmed that those silver-blue furs are the furs of a Smeargle, so it is possible that since the furs were found near the eight paintings I discovered, those eight paintings were painted by a Smeargle. A Smeargle with a silver-blue tail. _

_ Morrison also confirmed that the tattered piece of paper (the one with Vera's supposed handwriting) is definitely around a thousand years old. However, we don't know if Vera truly wrote this._

_ Unfortunately, Morrison hasn't finished the other tests yet. We don't know much about the tapestry, the paintings, or the test runs of pieces of ruins we've collected. They will still take time, according to Morrison._

_ I feel happy to have known this so far. We are making progress, even if it seems slow._

_ Before I head to sleep, I do want to write that I've felt something ancient and sinister beginning to haunt us. I don't know what this sensation is. Whatever it is, it is certainly unpleasant._

**_Wednesday, July 10, 1912 – Day 10_**

_ We are starting to run out of food, and I fear we may need to leave the ruins quickly._

_ Berenda has yet to come back from her exploring and we don't know where she is. I wanted to go look for Berenda tonight, but Simon and Morrison advised me not to because it was too dark. How could I not go look for her!? She is my wife, and I love her dearly! I was angry beyond words when the two told me not to go after her, although they reassured me that she was probably fine. She is a very good battler, and I'm sure she is capable of defending herself if anyone were to attack her. Besides! There isn't any other Pokémon out here, so why should I be worried!_

_ And yet, I still can't help but feel that there is something undeniably looming around us. It feels like something evil, threatening us to leave. It makes me wonder if I'll be getting out of these ruins alive._

_ Berenda mentioned she was going to discover the dungeons near the eastern entrance of the kingdom. What if something is lurking there? It made me think of the day I went to the dungeons near the western entrance, the day where I found the paintings. I didn't feel anything unusual there, however…_

_ I shall go to sleep now. I hope that I have a good night's sleep, though at this time, I doubt I will have a good night's sleep._

**_Thursday, July 11, 1912 – Day 11_**

_ It seems that we can't last much longer here._

_ Today, Simon and I went to search for Berenda first thing in the morning. We found her, though she looked terrible and I was worried so much for her. We found her, lying, unconscious near the east entrance to the Penn Kingdom Dungeons. She had cuts and dried blood all over herself. I can't even write down how macabre she looked. There was blood lightly streaming down her eyes, and her mouth cracked with dried blood. A huge slash ran from her chest down to her legs, caked with dust and dirt from the ruins. I nearly cried upon seeing her. It took us a considerable amount of time to get her awake. When she did wake up, she nearly screamed as if something internal was being ripped out of her._

_ We ran her back to the camp, and luckily, Morrison was able to perform surgery on her in time. With that, I feel relieved that she will be alive. She might be weak, but she will live._

_ Later, she had mentioned she was in a nightmare, a never-ending nightmare in which she could never wake up from until Simon and I had found her. She told me of terrible nightmares, so terrible she wouldn't dare speak of them to me. She kept shaking her head no, no matter how many times I insisted she tell me of her nightmares. The only thing that came of her was, "It was_ terrible_, I tell you, I can't even tell you the terrors of my nightmares…"_

_ She also told us that we must leave these ruins. She warned all of us that if we were to fall asleep, we would be in a never-ending nightmare, unable to wake up. As I am in charge of this expedition, I have ordered us to start packing up our things so that we may leave. I believe we have gathered enough artifacts for now._

_ Right now, she is lightly resting, and we have given her plenty of berries and medicine. We can only hope she'll be better. _

_ It is nighttime as I am writing this. After Simon and I had found Berenda, I couldn't but feel something was watching us from the shadows of the ruins. The sun was shining brightly and beautifully, but there was _something. _I had an urge to call out to it, to call out to it so that it could challenge me. I do have a feeling that this _something _was the one who made my wife unconscious._

**_Friday, July 12, 1912 – Day 12_**

_It is early in the morning, and we have finished packing up our things. In fact, we stayed up late last night packing our things all together without getting any sleep. After all, Berenda kept on warning us that if we were to fall asleep, we would all be pulled into a never-ending nightmare, like herself. She told us she was only lucky because Simon and I had found her. If we hadn't found her, who knows what would've happened?_

_ After understanding what happened to Berenda, I know we are lucky. The previous explorers, Webster, Reynolds, and Pendleton, were not so lucky. _

_ I know enough that the Penn Kingdom Ruins are a dangerous place to be. It is not safe to come here. No one should even walk among these ruins. I really wish we could've stayed here longer, but we can't. There are artifacts lying in the Penn Kingdom Ruins that I will never find. But right now, our own lives are more important. I plan to do many more explorations. I am not planning to die here at these ruins._

I breathed. Bens Kamex had only spent twelve days in the Penn Kingdom Ruins and yet he had discovered so many things that were essential to the mystery of Vera the Gardevoir. It wasn't just Vera, however. I had learned some extra things about the kingdom itself as well as gaining some sort of boost about the New King who ruled over Penn Kingdom.

I had wished there was some more information about this mystery. Bens Kamex had certainly written a lot of information, but it wasn't complete. Moreover, the supposed _thing_ Berenda Kamex had run along into was something that grabbed my interest. It seemed as if it was like a guardian of the Penn Kingdom Ruins. If it was a guardian, then what would that guardian be protecting?

"Ivona? I hope I'm not disturbing you," I heard Tristan's baritone voice call out to me.

"Oh, no," I replied with a friendly smile, "Has anything come up?"

"I haven't really found anything so special about the 1912 Expedition to the ruins," Tristan began as he walked towards me with a pile of old newspapers, "But I have the articles here if you would like to look at them. There's also someone interesting you might want to meet. Bens Kamex's wife is still alive."

"Berenda Kamex is still alive?"

Tristan nodded and set down the newspapers. "She's nearly a hundred-and-thirty years old, can you believe that?"

My eyes widened upon hearing this. "That's quite something."

"But she could help you," Tristan went on as he flipped through some of the newspapers, "Considering she went on that expedition with Bens Kamex in 1912. She must know something that happened there."

"She probably does know a lot that happened there," I said, and then began doubting that she would remember all of it at an old age, "Though I don't know if I should assume she remembers everything that happened in the expedition."

"Well," Tristan was thoughtful, "It's always worth a try."

"Perhaps," I agreed.

Tristan had let me take Bens Kamex's journal as well as some newspaper articles, knowing that I would return it. That afternoon, after I had said my goodbye to Tristan, I went home, the journal and articles in my tote bag. Questions were flying around my head, desperately begging me to write them down. Apart from Tristan, my entire mind seemed so wrapped around this historical mystery. I didn't have all of the puzzle pieces, and I felt like with the pieces I had now, I would have to make new puzzle pieces to fit the ones I already had. It was harder than a puzzle. At least, when someone buys a puzzle, all of the pieces are set and the picture is already printed on the box. With my mystery, I had limited puzzle pieces, and no preprinted picture on the box. I had to make my own puzzle pieces in order to make the picture. Not to mention, the picture itself was blurry. I could not clearly see what the picture was, and I knew I had to find it. If I had finished the puzzle, I knew I would have solved the mystery.

When I had gotten back into my apartment, I quickly took a shower and had my dinner, ready to get back to work. I brought out my laptop from an unpacked box and began searching up Berenda Kamex. Her phone number had to be out there somewhere. Soon enough, I found that she was living in Downtown Metropolitan in a senior home. I dialed their number and talked to the receptionist, who sent me over to Berenda's line.

The phone rang four times before someone had picked up.

"Hello?" a young, bright, feminine voice answered.

"Hi, my name is Ivona," I introduced myself, "I would like to talk to Berenda Kamex please."

"Berenda? I'm afraid she's a bit tired right now," the young voice answered, "She's sleeping, you see."

"Oh," I replied. "Then, is there another time I could talk?"

"Well, I could arrange that for you. Would it be all right if you could personally meet her? She would prefer to personally meet Pokémon."

"I see. Is there any day that fits?"

"How about next Friday, the fourteenth, at eleven-thirty in the morning? This is the only time we have available for next week."

I looked at my calendar I hung on the wall and noted that today was the fourth of September. I quickly wrote down the date in my notebook. "The time is fine." I would have to tell Fyre about this, but I was sure he wouldn't mind so much.

"Okay, then. If you don't mind me asking, what would you like to talk to Berenda about?"

"I'm a historian," I answered, "And I was wondering if she could just answer a few questions about an expedition she went to."

"Oooh. Well, I'm not sure if Berenda might remember anything. Are you aware that she is nearly one-hundred and thirty years old?" She told me in a concerned voice.

"I know," I told her, "But anything helps. I'm working on a project right now, and I need everything I can get to help me complete it."

"Oh, alright," her voice was bright and sunny again, "My name is Abby, for future reference. I'm Berenda's personal caretaker. Would you like the address?"

"Yes, I'll need it."

Abby told me the address. "It's all the way in Downtown. Do you know how to get there?"

"I'll find a way to get there," I told her, "Thanks, and have a nice evening."

"You too, and thank you!"

With that, I hung up on the phone. I sat still at my desk, wondering if Berenda would be cooperative with me next week. I had read in Bens Kamex's journal that Berenda was terrified by what had happened to her. Something had struck her to the point where she was covered in her own blood, found unconscious. He had already written a gruesome description of how he found his wife, and there was no doubt that Berenda was scarred from this. As I began writing down potential questions to ask Berenda, I told myself to be careful in how I phrased my questions. If I said something that made her angry, I would be kicked out of the senior home without a second thought.

Still, progress was going a lot quicker than I had expected. Only two days had passed, and I was already going somewhere. Maybe it wasn't going to take a long time after all.

* * *

Author's Note: And yes. I did pair a Blastoise (Bens) and a Medicham (Berenda) together. I like unusual pairings in Pokémon. That's all.

Next chapter will be coming pretty soon. Expect it within a few days. I've got most of it typed out, I just need to edit it.


	7. The Lunch

~present day~

Ivona

The first Friday of September came, and it had almost been a week since the first day I had my job here at the Cloisters Museum.

I had made some progress, though all of it was just a bunch of theories and speculation. My notebook's pages started filling up with more speculations and theories, with annotations and markings decorating the margins. All of my theories seemed to agree with each other at times. And then there were times where I started reading them and all of them would contradict one another. My mind had started becoming dizzy from all of the speculations possible. In one example, I wondered about the Smeargle with the silver-blue furs. Marlene had given me her copy of the paintings' analyses, confirming that it was at least a thousand years old, painted around the same time as the events in Vera's time. If a Smeargle had made those paintings, how could that Smeargle have known about Vera? It wasn't like that Smeargle actually followed Vera around her entire life, recording what happened to her through paintings. Maybe the Smeargle had been a recorder of Vera's story. After all, it was possible that Vera hired the Smeargle to paint her life story after she had defeated the "New King". But at the same time, I doubted it. What if Vera had died sacrificing herself to save the kingdom? Then the Smeargle would have never been able to record her life after she had died. Moreover, what did the shiny blue Gallade have to do with Vera? How was he related to her? Why had the Smeargle included that shiny Gallade? If Vera was the long-lost daughter of Gawain and Regan, what did an honorary knight have to do with her?

It seemed as if I also needed to meet many more Pokémon in order to solve the mystery. Everyone in the 1912 Expedition had passed away. Berenda Kamex was the only Pokémon alive, so I hoped she would offer something important to me. I also wanted to take a look at Morrison's notes. Bens Kamex had never made an entry in his journal regarding the other results of the tests of the other artifacts. In fact, I wanted to see the official analyses published by Morrison himself on the artifacts found in the expedition. The tapestry, the pieces of ruins, the old pottery, everything that wasn't the piece of paper and the silver-blue furs of a Smeargle had no results written in his journal. Surely, Morrison must have discovered something about them. There had to be something about Morrison's results somewhere. Simon also wasn't going to help. I had read in an old article that he had passed away about three decades ago.

Apart from that, I wondered what happened to the rest of those artifacts. I had looked at the rest of Bens Kamex's journals of different expeditions, but there was never a mention about where he put those artifacts. Those same artifacts weren't in the Cloisters Museum either, so that didn't help anything. It was as if the artifacts Bens Kamex had wrote about disappeared and never came back. Thankfully, Tristan was able to help me, offering to look up if Morrison's notes were found anywhere as well as the rest of the artifacts. But in the end, after he had contacted nearly every library he knew, nothing was found.

For the past few days, I also began wondering if I would go the Penn Kingdom Ruins. It was dangerous, certainly. I could still remember Kamex's macabre description of how he found his wife. There were other explorers who went there too, and they were reported to never come back. I was scared at the thought going there, but Bens Kamex himself was convinced that there were still artifacts there, undiscovered, maybe rotting away before they became nothing of value. If his intuition was correct, then those artifacts undiscovered must have some importance. After all, what if there were more paintings to be found? Maybe there were more than eight paintings, but they were all hidden away somewhere in those ruins. I started having a desire to go to there, the dangerous ruins in which I could very well lose my life trying to find more artifacts. At the same time, a tiny voice told me that I was not a strong battler. I had even admitted to Tristan that my battling skills were weak. And I still didn't have a full set of moves to rely on. Forget that, all of the moves I knew were probably unreliable for me to use. Did I even remember how to use Psychic properly? I felt ashamed, knowing that I was a Psychic-Type Pokémon who couldn't even use a move of her own type.

I groaned out loud at my own despair, my head buried in my notebook. If I wasn't even a decent battler, how would I even survive just _going_ to the ruins?

To my embarrassment, Tristan looked over to me from his desk, concerned.

"Is anything the matter?"

"Oh, no," I replied, masking my feelings, "I'm just having trouble sorting out all of these thoughts and theories in my head."

Tristan sighed, and then looked at me with a warm smile. "You know, you should give yourself a break."

"It seems almost impossible for me to do that," I laughed nervously, suddenly feeling the tension in my body. I had been working too much; it was no wonder my body was stiff.

"Well, it is Friday. This afternoon will be your first battle session with all of us here. When we have our battle sessions, everyone is at ease. No one is tense."

"Oh, that's right," I remembered the weekly battle sessions Tristan told me about. "You're right. I should probably relax."

I closed my notebook, my pen bookmarking the page I was last on, and turned myself towards the office window, finding myself staring at the beautiful view. I remembered earlier this week, how Tristan showed me a beautiful view from the roof of the library, and how I first found myself transfixed by the wondrous view of the park from the office window. The park itself seemed to have a healing quality, one that eased the tension in your body, making you calm and docile. It was amazing that such a calming, placid park could exist in the city of Metropolitan, the city everyone knew as the city that could never sleep. It only made me love my new home even more.

Then, I suddenly remembered. I had made a mental note to go talk to Levine, though I hadn't talked to him yet all week. I stood up from my chair, grabbing my waist-length cloak and wrapping it around myself. I took my notebook along with my pen as I pushed in my chair into the desk.

Tristan noticed that I was leaving. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go talk to Levine and see if he knows anything about the paintings that could help me," I answered with a smile, and waved a small goodbye to him, "I'll come back later."

"O-okay," Tristan replied with a smile and waved, "I'll see you then."

I quickly made my way out of the library, going back into the museum. I walked around the first floor, searching for the offices. Levine's office had to be somewhere near Fyre's. Eventually, after some searching, I had found his office, actually far away from Fyre's. His office seemed closed off from everyone else's in the museum. In fact, his office was in a quiet corner where visitors and tourists of the museum barely walked. It was situated in a room where there were simply statues and busts of various historical figures, nothing so special. I didn't mind, though it seemed strange how his office was far away from everyone else's.

I gently knocked on the door, hoping he would answer.

I waited for a couple of minutes. There was no answer.

I knocked the door again, wondering if Levine was even in his office.

"What are you doing here?" An abrupt and blunt voice demanded from behind me.

I turned around to find Levine the Zoroark staring directly at my eyes. His own blue eyes were just like his voice: abrupt and blunt. They seemed to be cold, almost wanting to drive away anyone who approached him.

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions regarding a set of paintings," I answered, holding my own ground. I would not be intimidated by someone else.

"What set of paintings?"

"The paintings on the second floor in the room off-limits to the public."

Levine snarled. "How do you know about them?"

"Marlene showed me." My voice was solid and smooth. "Those paintings are part of a project I'm working on."

"What project?"

I was surprised to hear him ask this question. "I had thought Avery would've told everyone by now…"

Levine stood there, waiting for an answer from me. I continued.

"My project is about Vera the Gardevoir," I explained, "The legendary Pokémon who saved Penn Kingdom long ago."

Levine stared at me, as if he was trying to read my mind. "And Fyre approved of this?"

"He did."

He was quiet, looking as if he was mentally debating on whether or not he would tell me something. Knowing this, I knew Levine had to be hiding something important.

"Will you answer my questions?" I asked again.

"I don't know anything about the paintings." Levine said dismissively. "Now leave."

I slightly jolted backwards. His response had surprised me.

Levine ignored my reaction as he opened the door to his office and shut the door in front of me. I was glad that no one had been watching what happened. All of the other tourists seemed far away enough to not notice.

I went towards the back entrance of the museum, making my way back to the library. I had not expected such a tart response from Levine. What was he hiding from me, and why did he have to be severe about it? He did want those paintings locked away from the public, and judging by how he reacted when I mentioned them, they must have had more value than I initially thought. There was something, something about those paintings he would not tell me. He made sure he would not tell me, especially since he had slammed the door in my face.

Along the way, I had met Jenna, who was on her way to go outside to have her lunch. We greeted each other before she asked me why I was not at the library like I usually was. By the time I had answered, we had left the museum and were walking on the smooth cobblestone sidewalk outside.

"I was going to ask if Levine would answer any questions about a set of paintings on the second floor," I sighed, "But he seemed callous. He wouldn't talk to me about them."

"Levine is like that," Jenna said with an understanding smile. "Of all the workers here, he's the most hard-hearted and withdrawn."

I wondered what had happened to him long ago. There was no doubt some past event had turned him into the callous Pokémon he was. "I can see that."

"Nobody really talks to him here," Jenna went on, "He's certainly not a social butterfly like Avery, but he does try to respect everyone who works here. Fyre even respects him. He also does attend our weekly battle sessions. He's a good guy at heart, so don't worry about it too much."

I sighed, wondering if I could really trust Jenna's words.

"By the way, are you going to today's battle session?"

I nodded. "Tristan told me about it and I decided to go."

"Great! It'll be fun this afternoon with a new worker!"

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Anyways, I'm off to eat my lunch," Jenna started walking towards a bench a distance away. "Later!"

I waved goodbye to her as I went back to the library.

Though Jenna had told me not to worry about Levine, I couldn't help but worry about him. He was obviously hiding something, going up to the point where he had shut the door in front of my face. I wanted to somehow take out the answers from him.

_Relax,_ I told myself, _Even if Levine won't help you, he can't stop you from working._

After I had returned to the library, I ended up staying at my own desk crammed with books and notes. Tristan had mentioned that he would go buy himself lunch, so I would have to watch the library while he was gone. I agreed, and let my mind swim around in more of my theories and speculations.

By now, I had my main theory set for Vera the Gardevoir. So far, based on the paintings, Vera had to be an abandoned Pokémon as a small child. It wasn't painted out very well that Vera was a small Ralts in that little basket that the Blissey found on the doorsteps, but based on the rest of the paintings, it had to be Vera in the basket. Vera also must've made friends in her new home, with the rest of the six Pokémon. I had to guess it was an orphanage of some sort, considering all of the diversity Vera lived with. With that, it was obvious that the Blissey in the picture must've been the caretaker.

And then, with the strange blue-magenta fire and the shadows in the next painting, the orphanage must've burned down. It was an extremely vague picture. There wasn't any Pokémon in there, so I couldn't see if anyone had died in the fire or escaped. One thing was definite: Vera was alive. She somehow escaped the tragedy that struck the orphanage and lived.

In the future, Vera eventually evolved into a Gardevoir, and three of the Pokémon from the orphanage, Charmander, Oshawott, and Mareep, had all evolved into their respective finals stages. It made me wonder what happened to the other three Pokémon, so I came to the conclusion that maybe they had died in the fire. It seemed like the only plausible solution as to why they were not painted. With that, the Charizard, Samurott, and Ampharos had decided to help Vera in her battle over the New King in order to overthrow him. After all, those three Pokémon were battling the black shadows, which could have possibly been controlled by the New King. By that logic, it must've meant that the same force who had destroyed Vera's orphanage had been the work of the New King.

_It seems reasonable,_ I thought, _But how could the same black shadows from a thousand years ago take away your parents two decades ago?_

I shivered quietly to myself and heard a small cry escape my mouth. It seemed as if it was more than a coincidence: the same black shadows that took away Vera's orphanage had also taken away my parents.

_Back to work! _I snapped to myself. I couldn't afford to think about the strange coincidence, and I didn't want to. Thinking about it made me feel insecure, as if a damnable force was trying to take control over my own body. I was certainly glad Tristan wasn't here. Were he here, he would've been concerned like the Pokémon he was.

I breathed softly, my mind focusing back on my work. I thought that maybe all of it could have been false. What if the paintings were fake? What if the paintings were inaccurate scenes of Vera's life? After reading over Marlene's analyses of the paintings, she had confirmed that they were painted around the same time Vera was supposedly alive. So yes, there was a possibility that Vera somehow hired a painter and got him or her to record Vera's life, something like that. But at the same time, what if this was just an artist's interpretation of Vera's story? What if the Smeargle who had painted these paintings never personally met Vera herself? The Smeargle could have been making up the story, for all I knew. Maybe the paintings weren't telling the true story of Vera. Besides, what if Vera had died in the battle with the New King? There was also the possibility that Vera actually sacrificed herself to get rid of the New King, so she could have died without ever telling anyone her past.

And the blue Gallade kept annoying me. What in the world did he have to do with the story of Vera? It only fed my doubt that this was truly the story of Vera the Gardevoir. How was he related to her? Why was he even painted? What did he do that the artist thought was important to Vera? There were two paintings of him, and neither seemed to contribute anything to Vera's life story. All I knew was that his name was Devin the Gallade, like Bens Kamex had mentioned in his journal. Moreover, he and King Gawain were in the born same year, but what did that do? Penn Kingdom Census Records didn't say anything other than the years he had lived in, and that he was an honorary knight. How was any of that relevant to Vera?

Eventually, I found myself staring outside at the glorious park from my window. I sighed, realizing all of the strain and stress in my body slowly diminishing away until my body felt loose.

_Things will sort itself out eventually… _I thought to myself. _All of this is so mind-wrecking…_

Soon, I found myself daydreaming. I had settled in the Metropolitan, but only in Uptown. I wondered, if I could ever, somehow explore the rest of the city. I wasn't sure why I was thinking of exploring the rest of the city, but I knew that after catching glimpses of what Midtown and Downtown were like, I wanted to just walk around and discover new places around the city, meeting new Pokémon. It seemed a bit strange, and out-of-place, considering that at the moment, the historical mystery in my hands had been eating most of my time. I wondered if I would ever make time to just take a long promenade around the Metropolitan.

Charisma, Trickster

Charisma sat on her usual tree in Cloisters Park as she lazily listened to Trickster complaining.

"You're _waayy_ too bossy," Trickster rolled its eyes to Charisma. "And I don't wanna have to act as some crappy spy."

"It's not a lot, you _Phony_," Charisma retorted, "I'm not asking you to murder someone without leaving a trace of yourself behind."

Trickster began bristling. "You need to stop calling me that!"

Charisma waved away Trickster's comment disdainfully. "Transform yourself into a Joltik right now. No one will be able to recognize you that way when you get down from this tree."

"You freaking _owe me_." Trickster said with a steely edge in his voice.

"Right, right," Charisma replied sarcastically. "Remember that you're not doing it for me. You're doing it for Godfather. I'm just the one who's organizing the plans."

Trickster stared at Charisma bitterly. Muttering to himself incomprehensively, he changed his Scizor form to a small Joltik.

"So let me guess this straight," Trickster began in a tiny voice, being a Joltik. Charisma almost felt an urge to laugh at how nasal and puny Trickster's voice was. "I'm supposed to spy on this wimpy Gardevoir named Ivona and your ex-boyfriend."

"No. You're supposed to throw yourself in the trash can."

Trickster made an annoyed face, but continued, his tiny voice now a bit more aggressive. "And I'm supposed to tell you if I hear the Gardevoir say if she wants to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins."

Charisma nodded apathetically. "I've told you already."

"Why am I supposed to do this?"

Charisma sighed, vexed. Trickster was usually one who kept on bugging you if you never gave Trickster the answers it wanted. "If you really want to know, I've been having premonitions that Ivona is snooping into something she shouldn't."

Trickster stared at Charisma. "That's _it?_"

"You aren't a Psychic-Type. That's why you wouldn't understand."

"Pft." Trickster frowned. "What's she snooping into?"

"I don't know," Charisma half-lied, "That's why I want you to snoop in. I can't snoop in while Ivona is with Tristan. It's much too troublesome."

"Fine." Trickster yipped as it jumped down from the tree. "I'll be back later."

Charisma smirked to herself before sighing and staring up at the leaves of her tree. She stared at the sun rays poking through the leaves and the branches, feeling specs of light on her body.

She had to admit that she started feeling that Ivona was up to something disquieting. This could jeopardize her. Recently, she had been having certain visions of Ivona going to the Penn Kingdom Ruins. Her visions were extremely vague, though. She didn't know if any other Pokémon were going with Ivona to the ruins. She couldn't tell why Ivona was there, either. Whatever Ivona was looking into, Charisma knew it was about the Penn Kingdom Ruins. And there was something dangerous lurking there, something Godfather had created long ago. Godfather had once made that monster, that monster guarding the Penn Kingdom Ruins, but he ended up dismissing the monster he had created and left it alone. He had never touched that monster again, and Godfather felt no pity for those who wandered into the ruins. Those who wandered in there were eaten by the monster without any mercy. To Charisma's knowledge, there was only one Pokémon who escaped the wrath of the monster, and he had been Phantom.

The thought of Phantom made Charisma curious. _I wonder how Phantom is doing…_

Tristan

Tristan sighed to himself. He had gotten lunch for Ivona at Pokébucks today, as he keenly noticed how she didn't have her usual lunch box with her. He wondered how Ivona would react. He felt compelled to buy lunch for her; Tristan got the feeling that she usually worked herself up to the point where she forgot to take care of her own body. In other words, Tristan couldn't help but feel that Ivona rejected her body more than she should have. Perhaps that was why she told Tristan that she was a "terrible" battler? Still, Tristan was sure she couldn't have been that bad.

He was standing in front of the double doors of the library, and he found himself slightly shaking. Tristan didn't want anything embarrassing to happen to himself or Ivona.

_Just tell her that you_ _bought lunch because you noticed she didn't have her lunch, _Tristan thought. _Just tell her it was just out of friendliness, nothing more._

Tristan straightened himself, and opened a door carefully with his free hand, entering the library. He didn't notice the small Joltik that had discretely crawled into the library from the top of the door.

When he had arrived at their office, he found Ivona in a reverie, staring out the window. She looked lost in her thoughts, as if she was pondering on the future of her life. Tristan couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds before he realized that he needed to move on. He cleared his throat, ready to tell Ivona the lunch he had bought for her.

"Ivona," he started, slightly hesitant. He realized how much his voice wobbled. Listening to his own voice felt like he was tightrope walking a few hundred feet in the air with no cushion to break his potential fall. He had to stay calm.

Ivona blinked, as if she was ushering herself back to reality, and then turned around to see Tristan. "Oh, hello."

Tristan smiled as warmly as he could, and continued a little more confidently. "Aren't you hungry?"

Ivona looked at the grandfather clock, noting that it was two in the afternoon, and then she looked down to her stomach. Blushing slightly, she acknowledged that she was hungry. "Yes, actually. I don't seem to pay attention to my own body as much as I should."

Tristan let out a loose laugh. "I got you lunch today, since I noticed you didn't have your lunch with you." He lifted the extra paper bag he had with him, the green Pokébucks label standing against the brown paper bag proudly.

"R-really?" Ivona looked at Tristan with surprise, the faint rouge in her cheeks still present. "You didn't have to, I mean." Ivona sighed, flustered. "I mean, how much do I owe you?"

"It's on me," Tristan said as he bravely walked to Ivona's desk and set it down in front of her. "You don't owe me anything."

Ivona seemed to stare at Tristan in confusion, perplexed by his gratitude. Tristan took in her gaze with as much tenacity he could gather, not wanting to melt from her bright burgundy eyes.

"Thank you," she managed to say.

"Don't mention it," Tristan replied, walking back to his desk, glad that it wasn't as embarrassing as Tristan thought the exchange would turn out.

Ivona reluctantly took the bag, and then to her embarrassment, a light gnarl came from her stomach. "E-excuse me," she laughed nervously, "I guess I really was hungry."

Tristan smiled, happy that he had provided her a small comfort. He opened up his own paper bag, revealing a Blissey-egg salad and a small coffee. He had gotten Ivona the same lunch, feeling hopeful that Ivona would like the classic Blissey-egg salad as much as he did.

The two Pokémon ate their lunch in silence. The only sound one could hear was the sound of quiet sipping and chewing. Tristan wanted to break this silence, and he was anxious to ask to ask a question he had been meaning to ask Ivona for a while. Ever since he first met her, he had wondered what her past life was like before she had moved here.

"Ivona," Tristan said, wanting to grasp her attention.

Ivona looked at Tristan as she swallowed some of her salad.

"What was your life like before you came here?" _Oh, dear Arceus,_ he thought, _The way I phrased that question didn't come out the way I wanted it to!_

In truth, Tristan was asking, _Was there someone else before me?_

"There isn't much," Ivona began, looking absentminded, and then, softly, "I mean, I suffered a past where my parents were taken away from me as a little Ralts. Afterwards, I was taken by two Hydreigon, who ended up being my guardians for the rest of my life. I grew up with a Deino and a Riolu, who ended up being my closest friends." Ivona breathed, her hand holding her chin, not meeting Tristan's eye. "I continued going on to school as a Kirlia, and then I went to major in medieval history. By then, I had evolved into a Gardevoir. I did some small jobs here and there after school, and now, here I am."

Tristan breathed. Apparently, when he asked her what her past life was like, she began summing up her life from a little Ralts to the Gardevoir.

"It isn't that great," Ivona continued, letting herself get caught up in her own past, "Being a Kirlia had its own disadvantages. I used to be very happy dancing around as a Kirlia. I stopped dancing, and soon, I became more absorbed into my schoolwork, especially history. I guess you could say it was a conscious awakening to the environment around me. I also hate sexism. That's the one thing that irritates me very much. Because I was a Kirlia, especially because I'm a Gardevoir now, I occasionally get looked at as if I'm at service for others. But now, because I've settled down in my new home here, I'm able to forget about my past a lot more quickly. I don't need to worry about men staring at me anymore," Ivona laughed shyly.

Another silence came over the two. Neither Pokémon were eating.

"I'm sorry," Ivona put her palm to her face, looking down at her salad. "I didn't mean to ramble on myself like that."

"No, no, don't worry about it," Tristan wanted to sound reassuring. "I should probably explain about myself too. Just to be fair.

"I was born and raised here in Metropolitan my whole life, and I love it here. There isn't much to say about myself, either, except that I've always had an admiration for books and the arts." Tristan smiled more confidently. "I used to dance, as a Kirlia, but then after evolving to a Gallade, I couldn't dance anymore. Now, I can only do what I can as a Gallade. I've mastered the art of swordsmanship, and I occasionally do poetry and singing. I have to admit, though, I don't have as much of a rough past as you do."

Ivona smiled, a hint of rouge appearing in her cheeks again. "Well, in the end, that doesn't matter as much as it should, does it?"

"Maybe not."

Ivona continued with her Blissey-egg salad, not wanting to meet Tristan's eyes. Tristan sighed to himself, quietly enough so that Ivona wouldn't hear.

_We've only known each other for about a week, _Tristan admonished himself. _Of course she isn't going to tell you if there was anyone before herself… And yet, she told you more than she had intended to._

"Do you think Fyre will let me go to the ruins in Northern Delonia?" Ivona asked, not even letting her own eyes meet Tristan's.

Tristan looked at Ivona, surprised to hear a request from her. She didn't look up. It was such a sudden question; Tristan wasn't prepared.

"It might be too much," Ivona continued, "Considering that the ruins there are extremely dangerous and that there is some kind of a monster lurking nearby there. But I'm really curious if there might be any more artifacts there that Bens Kamex didn't find. They're probably important to my project."

Tristan contemplated her request. "I'm not sure how Fyre would respond, frankly speaking. But, like a few days ago, you managed to set up an appointment with Berenda Kamex, and you'll be going there next Friday, so it shouldn't hurt to ask Fyre if you can go to the ruins."

Ivona nodded, still not meeting Tristan's eyes. "I could ask him today at the battle session."

"You could," Tristan agreed, "It's always worth trying."

Ivona finally looked up to Tristan here, giving Tristan a look in her eyes that Tristan found difficult to read. What could she possibly be trying to tell him?

Tristan smiled again, since he wasn't so sure what Ivona was trying to tell him. He wasn't so sure how to respond to her vague gaze, so he simply smiled. He had to admit, he wasn't as intuitive as he would've liked to be. He hadn't tapped inside the Psychic-Type power of himself in a while, especially since he relied more on his Fighting-Type power more often as a Gallade.

Eventually, the two pulled away from each other's gaze and continued eating their lunch. Tristan thought to himself how nice the conversation had been, even if it was small. Usually, their normal exchange would be just work and business, nothing too intimate. This was probably the first personal conversation they had ever had. Ivona revealed more about herself than the both of them had thought she would reveal, which surprised the both of them.

Moving along, Tristan continued eating his Blissey-egg salad. He would have to go back to work soon, and so would Ivona. There would be more time for thoughts when he finally got back to his apartment tonight.

Trickster

The small Joltik listening intently from outside the office decided to crawl out of the library, scurrying to find an exit.

The Gardevoir and Charisma's ex had just finished talking with one another. And Trickster had just finished its mission. It confirmed that Ivona wanted to go to the ruins, and there was a chance that at the weekly battle session all of the museum staff went to, she would ask the boss of the museum if she could go to the ruins.

Trickster swiftly found its way out of the library through a small vent. Soon enough, it found itself back outside the park and Trickster made its way back to Charisma's tree.

Charisma could instantly sense that Trickster had finished its job. She looked down at Trickster, ready to ask it her question.

"Was I right?" Charisma asked Trickster as it checked its surroundings, making sure no Pokémon would see him transform back into its usual form, a Scizor.

"Yeah." Trickster replied in a sing-song tone, and then transformed back into its usual form. "You were right. The Gardevoir might ask the boss to go there at today's battle session."

"That just means I'll need to stay a little longer before I go back to tell Romeo my progress," Charisma noted.

Trickster whined, annoyed. "Dammit, come on, I'd rather go back to the Lair."

"Then go back."

"Romeo made me stay with you so wherever you go, I follow."

"What do you expect me to do about it?"

Trickster grew annoyed. "I have absolutely nothing to do here."

"Not my problem." Charisma retorted, her head leaning against the tree trunk as if it were a pillow.

With a bored groan, Trickster decided to lie against the tree trunk on the ground. Charisma was never cooperative, even though they had basically been living together ever since they were babies. It would've liked to consider Charisma as its sister, though she repeatedly denied it. It didn't understand why Charisma was so serious, especially towards Godfather. And yet, she still was able to manipulate other Pokémon to her advantage, up to the point where she considered them fools because she was able to make her manipulated Pokémon idiots out of themselves. She never seemed to have respect for anyone else. She only respected Godfather, Demon, and Phantom, just because they were older than she was. Romeo and Trickster were around the same age as her, so Charisma could easily discard them without giving a kind thought.

Trickster suddenly thought about Phantom. It had barely known him, because the last time it had seen Phantom, Phantom was telling Godfather and Demon that he had decided to leave the group. It remembered Phantom saying something like, "I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back." Godfather didn't do anything, however. Godfather just let Phantom go on his way.

"Oi, Charisma. Do you still remember Phantom?"

"Phantom?" She scoffed. "I do wonder about him. But he betrayed us, he betrayed his loyalty to Godfather so he's as good as crap."

"Do you still think he'll come back?"

"Doubt it. Now stop talking. You're too loud."

Trickster rolled its eyes. It was a typical response from Charisma. Sighing, Trickster closed its eyes, and it wondered whether Charisma would ever change. Soon, it fell asleep. It wouldn't wake up until later.

* * *

Starbucks, Pokébucks, I hope someone caught that. :3 I couldn't really think of a restaurant name, but I was having a Starbucks frap when this idea came.

Also, has anyone kept up with the news in the Pokemon franchise? Gardevoir's also a Fairy-Type Pokemon! I've certainly got bigger plans for this fic now...


	8. The First Friday Battle Session

Author's Note: For those of you who keep up with the latest news in the Pokémon gaming world (like myself), chances are you know that Gardevoir is now a Fairy-Type as well. This originally looked like it was going to mess up my plot for the entire story, but I actually realize that type-change is actually a _good_ thing. In other words, I just found out how to make my plot more epic than before because Gardevoir's also a Fairy-Type! So glad I didn't publish this chapter before the news came! Ivona will have a slight type change… and I'll make her learn some Fairy-Type moves eventually… :3 Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Ivona

The museum had closed, and the sun was still out in the sky, not quite setting yet. There was enough light for everyone to see clearly, and I had only five words stuck in my mind.

_I. Am. Totally. Not. Ready._

They were blaring in my mind as I walked with Tristan to the open grassy battlefield of Cloisters Park.

Though, it wasn't as if the world was ending. I ended up becoming much calmer than I thought I would ever be for today. After all, I was a terrible battler for a Pokémon. And, I seriously doubted that I could use Psychic properly, even for a Psychic-Type Pokémon. Little kids might as well have been making fun of me because an adult Pokémon like myself couldn't even use a move of her own type. It's always assumed that any Pokémon should be able to use at least one move of their own type, after all. Aside from that, this battling session would give me a nice, small break from my work I had to do. I didn't completely appreciate sitting at a desk all day trying to find out the mystery behind a dead woman warrior. Everyone had to have a break from work.

Tristan seemed so reassuring to me, and I felt myself much more confident about myself. Earlier this week, he was positive that I wasn't so terrible at battling, and that even if I was, he would help me without a second thought. He even gave me the classic Blissey-egg salad for lunch topped with a refreshing coffee, without asking for anything in return. I had been forgetful enough this morning to not bring my own lunch, and what he did made me more than happy, though I tried not to show it. When Tristan asked me about myself, I had told him more than I intended to. I hadn't meant to do that, but I knew it was because of him that I had rambled on about myself. In other words, Tristan was someone who I found I could trust. But, it did seem a bit strange. Earlier this week, I was nervous, but I knew that I couldn't afford to be nervous around him. I knew I had to treat him as a coworker, though that didn't stop me from admiring him afar. And then, somehow, somewhere along that way, I found myself smiling more than I would normally allow myself to. On normal circumstances, smiles were rare from me, but Tristan, and my new coworkers changed all of that. In just one week.

_Of course, he's not the most important thing you need to focus on,_ a high and mighty voice declared proudly in my head, _It's great that you aren't so nervous around Tristan. Yeah, it's great that you feel calm around him. Yeah, it's great that you have someone like Tristan to trust. But you know what? Your main project is much more important. Remember. You need to figure out the mystery to Vera. You can deal with Tristan after you've finished your job, which obviously much more important than Tristan. Is _he_ important to you that much anyways? I mean, come on-_

Avery's bright, theatrical voice grabbed my attention, cutting off the rather haughty voice running around my head.

"There you guys are!" Avery called out delightedly to us. "We were all waiting for you!"

I took the time to glance quickly around the battlefield. Tristan and I were the last ones to arrive. I recognized familiar faces as all of the Pokémon waved hello to us. I gave a quick wave with my hand, a mild smile forming on my face.

"We're here now," Tristan said with an easy smile, "So we can start."

"Alright Ivona!" Avery looked up at me cheerfully. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Tristan is supposed to help me with battling," I began, "And I remember Joey saying that he would help teach me Icy Wind."

"Do you know what you need to work on?"

I frowned. "My Psychic. My Signal Beam. My Double Team. I don't have a full set of moves. All of my moves are really rusty, except for Double Team."

"That's why I'm here to help!" Joey came over, giving his usual jolly smile. "So you have two Pokémon to help you battle!"

Nell the Ampharos walked over to us merrily. "I'll offer to help with your Signal Beam," she offered brightly. "I'd like to take a break from battling today."

"You should probably take off your cloak while you're at it," Avery mentioned quite casually, as if he had no sense of privacy. I'm sure he hadn't meant it in a stimulating way; his voice sounded so unintentional.

I turned slightly red, hoping no one noticed my face. My cloak provided me comfort, but I knew that if I were to battle, it would get in the way. Trying not to show my hesitation, I unclipped the clasp of my cloak that wrapped around my upper body and set it down next to my tote bag under a nearby tree, the upper half of my body feeling slightly chilly breeze.

"So," Avery concluded, "Joey, Nell and Tristan are helping you today. Is that right?"

I nodded in response. "Yeah."

"Good! Now that that's settled, everyone's all in place!" Avery waved happily. "I'll be over with Jenna and Lila!"

I nodded and waved in return.

"Let's get started!" Joey's jolly voice said from behind me. I turned around, facing my battle partners today. "Wanna start with Icy Wind?"

"Sure." I responded, and then looked at Tristan and Nell. "What will you do?"

Tristan gave me a warm-hearted smile. "How about I be your target for now?"

I was shocked at Tristan's offer, thinking of how kind it was of him to act as my target. I quickly shoved away my romantic thoughts and focused on the battling session. "Okay."

"I can be another target," Nell suggested. "That way, you have two targets."

"Is that alright with you?" Joey asked, and then said in a more cautious, but considerate tone, "Two targets might seem challenging for you."

I put on an energetic smile. "Why not? I like challenges. I won't be great, but it's worth a try."

"It's settled then," Tristan declared in a gallant voice. "Nell and I will be your targets. Now, let's start!"

"So, Ivona," Joey looked at me, holding his two hands together, "You start by wrapping a sphere around the air. Most Ice-Type Pokémon use their mouths, but for those who aren't Ice-Types, Icy Wind comes from the hands. Myself, I am an Abomasnow, so I'm also a Grass-Type. That means when I form Icy Wind, it comes from the air around myself using my hands."

I paid close attention to Joey as he started, subtlety forming an invisible sphere within his hands. Soon, he closed his eyes, almost as if he was feeling the air around him. I felt a small breeze fly by, and he seemed to use it to his advantage, as the air grew noticeably cooler around us. The invisible sphere forming around his hands suddenly started to form small, crystalline pieces of ice, magically spinning around in circles. When his eyes opened, he stopped forming the sphere and let it go, and his body started moving in the direction as his Icy Wind. The longer Joey kept the Icy Wind moving, the more ice crystals kept forming within the air, moving in the same direction Joey wanted it to. It moved around gracefully, Joey controlling the direction of the Icy Wind with relative ease. When he finished, the ice crystals of the Icy Wind seemed to melt in the air like stardust, as if they had never existed.

"Now," Joey looked back to me, "Do you think you can do that?"

I breathed. "I'll do what I can."

Straightening myself, I closed my eyes and felt the wind blowing behind me. I noticed its subdued movements, feeling it blowing against my gown. My hands started forming an invisible sphere, as Joey had, and I tried to capture the coolness of the wind, feeling my body more chilly than before. To my amazement, I found that I could make the air cooler, as Joey had. Not long after, I started feeling small ice crystals forming between my hands. Slightly excited, I opened my eyes. They didn't look so much like crystals, but instead, they looked more like unpolished, jagged rocks.

"Keep going!" Joey encouraged. "You're getting the hang of it!"

I closed my eyes again, breathing in the cold, chilly air.

"Try to feel in sync with the air currents!" Joey continued, my eyes still closed. "When you're in sync with them, you have an easier time controlling Icy Wind!"

I paid attention with my senses, making sure to connect myself with the wind to the best that I could.

"Launch the ice crystals now!" I heard Joey's voice command.

Without hesitation, I released the sphere from my hands and fumbled, trying to get back in connection with the wind. To my horror, I couldn't get back in sync with the wind as I had before. I struggled, trying to grasp control of the rough Icy Wind, and by then, the unpolished ice crystals I had formed were clumsily moving in the air. Irritated, I tried controlling the crystals again, wanting to make them move the way I wanted to, but they refused. Before I knew it, I lost both control of the crystals and the wind. They fell to the ground crudely, and the air remained as warm as it was before.

I sighed, needing air. "That was terrible."

"That wasn't bad," Joey said with an encouraging smile, "I thought it was pretty good for someone who started learning the move."

I gave a weak smile in response. "I'm pretty sure I lost my control the second I started releasing the ice crystals between my hands."

"That's true," Joey said as a matter-of-factly, "Surprisingly, you were able to feel the wind and help cool it down. You did a pretty good job there. So all you have to work on is releasing the ice crystals while staying in connection with the wind. It's totally natural, though, because most Pokémon trying to learn Icy Wind have the same problem. They can't release the ice crystals they form and keep in sync with the wind at the same time when they're at it."

"Okay." I breathed in more air, prepared to try the move again.

"All in all," Joey said before I started, "Don't try to control the wind first. Feel the breeze, cool it down, and control the sphere in your hands. Don't change the direction of the wind until you release the sphere in your hands. And remember to stay calm. Staying calm is the secret to using the move. The more tense you are, the more the move will likely fail."

I slightly flinched. Perhaps because I was tense, I wasn't able to relax and control the move the way I wanted to.

"Alright," I told Joey. "I'll try again."

I breathed again and repeated the same process as I had before: feel the wind, lower the temperature of the air, and start forming the ice crystals within my hands. When I felt prepared, I made sure I kept myself in touch with the wind, and I released the crude ice crystals from my hands. Calming my mind, I paid attention meticulously to the wind, and with a bit more ease, I was able to take the ice crystals with the wind a bit farther in the direction I had wanted them to go. In the end, they hadn't disintegrated as gracefully as Joey's Icy Wind had, instead falling to the grass ungracefully.

"It's much better," Nell noted with a merry smile. "That was good improvement!"

"Second that." Tristan agreed. I accidentally looked into his eyes, and they seemed to glow with happiness.

I pulled myself away from his eyes, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks," I said, hopefully audible enough for them to hear.

"I think you've gotten the hang of it, for the most part," Joey remarked, "You understand the entire process. All you need to do is practice, and relax."

"That's it?" I looked at him, slightly surprised. "Just practice and relax?"

Joey nodded. "You seem to have the gist of it nailed down. So yeah, just practice."

"Okay," I turned to Nell. "Do you think I could just practice Icy Wind a few more times before we move onto Signal Beam?"

Nell nodded buoyantly. "Go ahead! Just tell me when you're ready. Tristan and I will act as your targets in the meantime."

I straightened myself, and breathed, hoping to relax.

"Ready when you are!" I heard Tristan's voice say to me.

I looked up to him, finding a smiling Tristan, who seemed to revitalize me. I gave a quick smiled to him in return, and closed my eyes, preparing to practice the move once more.

Repeatedly, I practiced Icy Wind. With every attempt, I tried aiming towards both Pokémon. It was difficult, considering that I had two targets to chase after. I knew that I had to control my Icy Wind strong enough so that the wind could split into two directions and hit both Pokémon simultaneously. It was a good workout, though. Soon, I felt modestly fluent with my newly-learned move. It wasn't completely mastered; there were still quirks I had to get used to. Nonetheless, it was similar to learning a new language. It felt like I had enough words to make a decent conversation, but I had not yet understood the entire language itself.

After practicing the moves for a dozen times, I sighed heavily. Tristan and Nell had both managed to evade all of my attempts of Icy Wind, but even so, I wasn't disappointed in myself. I was happy to improve my new move, even if I hadn't managed to attack anyone. Meanwhile, Joey knew his job was done, so he went over to another battling group.

Nell and I agreed to start Signal Beam after I had taken a small break. Once again, Tristan offered to be my target for practice. After a couple of minutes, I made myself go back on the grassy battlefield.

I straightened myself, beginning to test out my Signal Beam. A heavy rainbow light started forming from the front of my horn, and the familiar feeling of my Signal Beam started coming back to me. Gaining confidence, I put more strength into the Signal Beam, the beam growing stronger and stronger. I instantly regretted doing so, for when I released the Signal Beam, I had released the attack straight at Tristan, as if a volcano had erupted. I knew instantly that I lost control of my own move.

Tristan was swift; he prepared a Protect that rendered my Signal Beam ineffective, making the attack bounce off from his shield.

I could only stare at what happened in alarm what had happened. Amid my perplexity, Nell stared at me in utter shock.

"A-Are you sure your Signal Beam isn't as rusty as you insisted it was?" Nell looked at me, her eyes opened wide.

I grimaced, experiencing a mix of confusion and irony. "I thought it was. But I didn't expect my Signal Beam to turn out that way."

"I'm sure it was an accident," Tristan explained, though I could hear that he was just as confused.

"That was…" I struggled to find the right words to excuse myself, "…just dumb luck."

"Well," the Ampharos looked thoughtful, tapping her chin, "It just means you need to learn how to control your Signal Beam. That was a pretty powerful one. When was the last time you used the move?"

I prodded back into my memories as far as they would take me. "I can't remember very well. Maybe I used Signal Beam once last year."

Nell frowned. "Well, that really is a shock." She sighed. "But I did say I would help you, so I'll help you try to control your Signal Beam."

I nodded in agreement. "Shall I try again?"

"Go ahead," Nell said.

Sighing, I prepared another Signal Beam. This time, I took extra care in making sure I wouldn't lose control of my Signal Beam. Using my hands, I cautiously made sure my move wasn't aiming at Tristan. I launched the attack into the air above me. It wasn't as powerful as the move before, but I knew I had gained control of my move.

"Your control is better!" Nell said happily as she looked up at the move. "It's not as strong as before but at least you got a better hang of it!"

I smiled confidently, happy I had regained my control.

"But I would recommend something," Nell offered, "I noticed that when you make your Signal Beam, your focus tends to be more around the beam rather than the center of the beam itself."

"So, by that you mean," I began deducing what she meant, thinking of how I had previously released my Signal Beams. "I don't focus enough in the center of the beams?"

"Exactly," Nell confirmed, "I think it's why your Signal Beam went overboard and accidentally hit Tristan."

I took in Nell's words, realizing that she was right. I straightened myself once more, preparing another Signal Beam. This time, Tristan was the only target I had to watch out for. With each Signal Beam, I was able to focus more deeply and intensely on the center of the beam rather than the rim.

"You seem to be getting the hang of your Signal Beam quickly! It isn't so rusty after all!" Nell exclaimed.

I smiled in agreement, but deep down, I felt slightly uneasy. Something felt wrong; I shouldn't have been able to use my moves as easily as I should have. And yet, I _was_ able to learn Icy Wind in a short time, and I managed to regain control of my Signal Beam in no time, despite the unusual outburst that happened when I released my first Signal Beam.

_It might really be just dumb luck…_ I thought. _I guess I was somewhat ready today. But I need to make sure I am actually _prepared _next time._

For the rest of the battle session, I worked on polishing my Signal Beam. Tristan managed to block my attacks with ease at first, although the more I was able to control my move, the more Tristan had to be wary of it. To my surprise, one Signal Beam of mine managed to attack Tristan when he wasn't prepared. It took a considerable amount of difficulty for me to aim directly at him; Tristan was one of the best battlers I had come across in a long time. I could tell immediately that ordinary Pokémon were no match for him the more I tried to target him. His speed was magnificent, and whenever his Protect failed, he was always able to substitute one of his own moves as a defense. So it was no wonder when my Signal Beam hit him, both of us exchanged looks of shock and awe.

"You did it Ivona!" I heard Nell's voice cheer happily. "You got Tristan! And your Signal Beam is great!"

"Alright everyone!" Avery's voice declared loudly. "Our battling session is over!"

_Oh, Arceus!_ I suddenly remembered. _I need to ask Fyre about the ruins!_

Time seemed to pass by much more quickly when you were so absorbed into something that had taken complete control of you. I realized that this is what I had been feeling ever since the first day I had come here. Ever since the first day I arrived at work, I didn't pay attention to how much time had flown by. These thoughts echoed my mind as I went towards Fyre.

"Fyre," I began to my boss, "I'd like to ask you something."

"Oh?" Fyre turned around to me. "What is it?"

"I've made progress so far on my project," I started, "And I'd like to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins up in Northern Delonia, just to see if I can get another lead."

"_**NO!**_" I heard the recognizable, abrupt voice protest jarringly.

Fyre turned around, finding Levine. The Zoroark stood there, his icy eyes boring into mine. It was the second time today he had challenged me. There was no doubt. Levine was hiding something more important than I had thought it was.

Fyre was calm as he looked at Levine, and then back to me. "So, Ivona wants to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins and Levine says no."

No one spoke. Levine's voice had managed to turn everyone's heads to our situation. Not one of us was embarrassed. Fyre stood with a poker face. Levine glared at me with a severe gaze. I stood my ground; I would not be backed down.

Fyre looked into my eyes, though not coldly. "You do know the ruins are an extremely dangerous place to go to?"

I nodded affirmatively. "I am well aware of the fact."

Fyre looked into my eyes, testing me. He had done this the first time I met him, when I had my job interview with him.

He looked away after he was satisfied. He looked to Levine next. "Why do you oppose Ivona's request?"

"It's dangerous beyond words," Levine replied coldly, "Even for the best battlers of Metropolitan. It should go without saying that _she_ is not prepared to go there."

"If you don't mind me interrupting," Tristan gently intruded the conversation as he walked towards us, "I made an offer to Ivona saying that I would go to the ruins with her."

Fyre turned towards Tristan calmly. Tristan didn't flinch, though I could feel he was slightly nervous.

He looked at Tristan curiously. "May I ask why you'd do that?"

"I told Ivona that I would help her with her project," Tristan admitted without embarrassment. I almost blushed, recalling the day he told me he would help me with my mission.

A silence hung heavily in the air. Everyone seemed to be waiting for Fyre's next words.

"Well," Fyre said quite coolly, "I'll think about this. Ivona does have a point. There could be hidden artifacts there that are essential to solving the mystery of Vera the Gardevoir." Fyre closed his eyes. "Ivona and Levine, I expect you two to be in my office tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

"Understood," I replied.

Levine nodded in agreement, obviously not pleased. When he finally got one last satisfying glance at me, he turned away. I stood there, bewildered by his behavior.

I sighed, exhausted by Levine's attitude towards me. He had a grudge towards me, simply because I was doing my job. What was wrong in trying to solve a mystery about a woman warrior from long ago?

Without trying to answer the question, I went back to the tree where I had put down my tote bag. I considered putting on my cloak, but I found myself not wanting to put it on. All of the battling had tired me, and my body was heated. Hesitantly, I hung the cloak on one arm and turned around, seeing that everyone had resumed back to their normal tasks. They didn't seem very affected from the outburst that had come from Levine.

"Are you all right?" Nell asked me as I stood. "You look a bit spooked."

I nodded. "I'm fine."

Nell smiled sympathetically. "Does Levine bother you?"

I breathed, noticing that Levine was walking away from the battlefields. "Somewhat."

"Well, there isn't much one can do about him," Tristan said as he walked towards me. "It's just who he is. He's a loner with different ideals than most of us."

I looked at Levine one last time, attempting to comprehend the mind of this Pokémon. After a few seconds, I sharply turned away. His behavior irked me.

"Anyways, I'll be heading home," Nell began her farewell as she slung her shoulder bag over her head, "I'll see you two tomorrow!"

Tristan and I said our goodbyes to Nell. Everyone else was preparing to leave as they all waved goodbyes to each other.

"May I walk you home?" Tristan asked very suddenly, making my head turn to him.

I looked at him in surprise. "You don't have to."

"I insist," Tristan said in the most courteous tone I had heard from him. I felt my heart slightly quicken, as if a Swanna were beating her wings, trying to take flight from the lake. He gallantly offered his arm, and I found myself thinking, _How can I not accept?_

"Why…?"

Tristan had a tender smile on his face, one that made me melt inside. "Why not?"

At a loss for words, I sighed with a defeated smile. Without saying another word, I softly took his arm, and together, we walked away from the battlefields. Twilight was ready to set in, as the sun had just finished setting.

Charisma, Trickster, Romeo

Not very long after Ivona and Tristan had left the park, Charisma sat on top of her tree, pondering on what had just happened.

"This is bad," Charisma noted softly to herself. "There's no doubt, she will be going there…"

"Can we go now?" Trickster's annoying voice reached her ears.

"So, this is where you were." Charisma heard another voice from below the tree. She looked down, finding the heart-breaking, ravishing Romeo glancing up at her. "What were you doing out so late?"

"It's simple," Charisma jumped down from the tree. "I was spying on them."

"Why?"

Charisma ignored his question. She thought she had already told Romeo her visions of the future, of Ivona going to the ruins. Why had he asked her such a pointless question? "I have a plan for tonight. We need to kidnap Tristan."

Trickster looked at Charisma with curiosity. "What would you do that for?"

Charisma smirked, looking seductive. "I don't want Tristan going with her to the Penn Kingdom Ruins."

"Are you trying to kill her?" Trickster looked at Charisma with a jolt.

"If Tristan doesn't go with her, there is a chance we can stop her from going there. That way, the monster there won't kill her."

Romeo smiled, suddenly realizing what Charisma was up to. "That's right. You did say that Godfather might use Ivona. If Ivona is killed, then that's certainly not good. And Godfather doesn't care enough to stop the monster lurking there."

"On the other hand," Romeo looked at Charisma with a tempting smile, "Are you _envieux_, by any chance, that Tristan is in love with Ivona? Is he the real reason why you spied on them? Surely, _ma chérie_, you already knew that Ivona will be going to the ruins. You didn't have to stay around to 'confirm' that Ivona was going there. But you stayed, for what I believe was for Tristan."

If Charisma had an eyebrow, she would've raised it at Romeo.

"Does it look like I am?"

"_Ma ch_é_rie,_" Romeo said in a caring voice, "You once did truly love him. You know what he did for you."

This hit a nerve for Charisma, though she wouldn't show it. She refused to show any of her feelings to anyone, and she was fortunate that Trickster and Romeo weren't Psychic-Types. If they were, they would have a stronger intuition, strong enough to know they had hit a nerve of hers. "The past is the past. What matters is the present. So what Tristan made me feel once does not matter now."

"I'm still here." Trickster bluntly pointed out, facepalming himself. "Every time Romeo comes along, your sappy love talks come up all over again."

"I can't help it," Romeo laughed to himself, "Love is meant to be enjoyed while we're young and lively. Besides, Charisma, _je t'aime_. I am only concerned for you."

Charisma was in the mood to attack Romeo repeatedly with her Shadow Balls. "We've got no time to waste," she said instead, "Tristan is walking Ivona home. We should head to his apartment while we're at it. When he gets back home, he'll find a wonderful surprise…" Here, Charisma giggled to herself, with a hint of maniacal overtones embedded in the laugh.

"_Ma chérie amour,_" Romeo said softly under his breath so that Charisma couldn't hear, "There is no doubt. _Certainement, _there are still small traces of you, small parts of you who still love Tristan…"

Trickster sighed, annoyed. "We better do this quickly."

"It'll be quicker than you think," Charisma chimed, unaware of Romeo's comment.

She looked at the sky. The sun had disappeared, the sky now a deep indigo color. The air was considerably cooler, and Charisma smiled to herself. She felt useful, and happy that her plan could potentially help Godfather.

_You'll be redeemed in the end, Charisma,_ she thought to herself, _You might not be able to make the black hole, but of course, there are other ways to please Godfather. You'll be redeemed in no time…_

Ivona

Uptown Metropolitan was very quiet at night. There were occasional lampposts that lit up the streets, while every building we passed by had lights softly shining from the windows.

"I'm sorry about the Signal Beam that accidentally hit you earlier," I said to him as we walked along the cool night. "That was unintentional."

"I forgive you," he answered in a benevolent voice, "I know that came to you as a shock."

I sighed. "I'm glad I practiced battling today though. It was fun."

Tristan looked at me, and he seemed truly happy at the moment. His eyes seemed to sparkle brilliantly. I shyly looked away, my face growing slightly hot.

"If you don't mind answering," Tristan started a question, "Why do you wear a cloak?"

"It's for personal reasons," I replied, my voice seemingly melting into the air, remembering an incident that happened to me long ago, "That I would prefer not to say."

I felt Tristan slightly jolt. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Please, don't worry about it," I murmured, wondering if he could even hear me. By then, the terrible memories from long ago started replaying in my mind, as if there was a scratch on a CD that the CD player couldn't stop playing over and over.

I was a newly-evolved Gardevoir. I only evolved because a stalker was following me, and I was helpless as a Kirlia. In defense, I evolved as a Gardevoir and I was able to escape from the stalker. It seemed like an advantage; I had evolved, and evolution meant Pokémon were stronger. Yet, it seemed to have the reverse effect. More Pokémon ended staring at me, making me highly uncomfortable. Whenever I asked something of them, they never seemed to take me as seriously as other Pokémon, simply because I was a Gardevoir, simply because I was a woman. Whenever I was talking to a Pokémon, regardless of the gender, more often than not, they ended up staring at my own body rather than looking at me in the eye.

After noticing that they never took me seriously, I got myself a midnight-blue cloak, designed so that Pokémon would focus more on looking me in the eye instead of my body. I had specifically requested it to up to my waist, so that the upper half of my body would not show.

Suddenly, I wanted to tell this to Tristan, too. The first day I had met Tristan this week, I was wearing my cloak. He didn't pay as much attention to my body as he did with my eyes. At least, that's what I could remember. It was so obvious we had fallen in love with each other that day, and I had my cloak on, so he hadn't seen my body the first day.

I shook off the thoughts in my mind. Why should all of those thoughts matter so much?

"Ivona," Tristan's voice called my name, as if he was singing once more.

I forced myself to look at him. His handsome face was worried, his eyes looking deeply into mine. For a time, we stood like this, absorbed in each others' fixed stares.

"A-are you alright?" He began with an unsteady tone.

I made myself straighten up. "You don't need to be so concerned about me. I'm fine."

"…You're sure?"

"Yes," I said, hurriedly pushing away my troubling thoughts, "Let's continue walking."

Tristan seemed reluctant, though I pretended not to notice. I gently forced the both of us to continue walking to the best that I could. For the rest of the walk, a silence took place. Neither of us could say anything that would help pass time.

When I finally arrived at my apartment's building, I slowly took my arm out of his.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said quietly, finding myself not quite wanting to leave Tristan. To make the conversation a little more natural, I asked, "Are you sure I still don't owe you anything for the lunch today?"

Tristan gave me what I thought looked like a loving smile. "You don't owe me anything. So please, don't repay me."

I gave him a smile that read, "Are you positive?"

"Have a good night, Ivona," Tristan said my name as if he was giving his heart to me. I blushed, to my embarrassment.

"And to you, Tristan," I replied as warmly as I could.

We gave a final wave of goodbye to one another. Sighing, I opened the door to my apartment's building, and walked inside.

_Today was quite the day…_

Tristan

Tristan breathed in the evening air. It was now twilight, one of his favorite times of day. He smiled to himself, and he thought about how great the battling session was today. He had fun with Joey and Nell trying to teach Ivona to battle again. Even if Ivona wasn't a physical battler like himself, he still felt happy trying to help her.

That was when he remembered: he wanted to ask Ivona out for dinner. Eventually, he would have to do that. She was such a nice Pokémon. She was strong, whether she knew it or not, because of her determination to work hard. She had something that stood out from all the other Gardevoir he had seen. She especially seemed like a sharp contrast from Charisma. Tristan had the feeling that her ideals and Charisma's seemed to clash against one another.

Aside from her personality, she was very elegant and beautiful. Her gown had the most fragile shade of white he had ever seen. Looking at her gown was like watching the pale moonlight shine on snow at night. He found that her arms were especially delicate. He wished that her delicate arms would wrap around him and never let him go. Her smile was modest, warm, and inviting.

Before he knew it, he found himself turning red just thinking about her.

Sometimes, he wondered what she truly thought of him. How much did she love him? How did she feel towards him? There was no way she was like Charisma, his ex-girlfriend. Ivona didn't want to use Tristan the way Charisma did, which he found relieving. In fact, Ivona seemed to come right out of a fairy tale, and she was the princess he had long been searching for to love. The princess who respected and treated Tristan, the knight, equally. Not like Charisma, who basically used Tristan as a servant.

_I am the most hopeless and miserable and pathetic romantic to ever exist…_

Soon, he arrived back at his own apartment in Downtown Metropolitan. It was a very polite apartment, much like Tristan himself. He closed the front door behind him and stood there, wondering what Ivona was doing at the moment. He breathed, shaking his head, knowing he had things to do.

Sighing, he made his way to his bedroom. He closed the door behind him, and then he saw her.

Charisma.

"C-Charisma?" Tristan nervously coughed out her name.

She was sitting on his bed, her legs crossed over one another, and she had a provocative smile on her face.

He remembered the first time he had met her. She had the most seductive voice he had ever heard. Her gown was flawless, being as white as a fresh blanket of snow shining in the intense, cruel sun in winter. Her horns were rose red, something he found hard to resist. She had the most devilish smile Tristan had ever seen, one that made him blush furiously whenever he saw it.

"It's been a while, Tristan," she began in her most seductive voice, "Did you miss me?"

Tristan took a ragged breath. He spoke with a harsh tone. "What do you want?"

"Surely, you must have missed me." She continued, as if she had never heard Tristan's crude voice.

Tristan raised an arm, preparing for a Night Slash attack. "Get out of here."

"I don't think so," she jumped off the bed, her provocative smile still on her face, "I missed you, Tristan. I'm sure you missed me too."

Tristan froze, his Night Slash hanging in the air as Charisma slowly continued to walk over to him. She was seducing him, he knew this much. Her beautiful gown swayed alluringly, her enthralling, scarlet eyes captivating him.

From behind Tristan, he felt claws grab his arms, twisting them behind his back. He yelled, the pain forcing his Night Slash to die off. He could only catch glimpses of the Pokémon who were pinning him down. A Blaziken to his right, and a Scizor to his left. If Tristan hadn't forgotten Close Combat, he would've gotten out of their grasps in a snap.

"Like I said, _Tristan_," Tristan heard Charisma's rapturous voice as a claw forced his face to slam against the floor, "I missed you, and I'm quite sure you missed me too."

The last thing Tristan heard was Charisma's tantalizing, maniacal laughter, before the darkness mercilessly took over his mind.

* * *

It pained me to write the scene where Tristan was kidnapped! Ack! Well, I have to do this for the story. Believe me, these characters are really starting to grow on me, a lot more than I originally thought they would. Next chapter will be coming! I'm almost done with school finals! o(^w^)o


	9. Where Tristan Is

A/N: Whoot! My school finals are done! And hooray for the first day of summer (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere of this planet at least)! Here's another chapter! o(^o^)o

* * *

Charisma

Charisma was the first Pokémon to wake up in the early morning. She looked around herself. Trickster was snoring away on the musty old couch it usually sat on. Romeo slept on a chair, his handsome face dangling to one side.

She stood up, her right arm feeling miserable. Because Charisma's usual bed had been moved to Tristan's room, she was forced to sleep on the carpet on her side. If she slept down on her back, her horn would get in the way and she wouldn't sleep comfortably. It was the price of being a Gardevoir; you had to be careful on how you slept. Pulling herself together, Charisma went towards the darker depth of the Lair, away from where Trickster and Romeo were.

The darker depth of the Lair was a spacious hallway that led deeper into the underground of the Metropolitan. Romeo often hung around here. It was why whenever Charisma would meet Romeo down here, he would come from this murky corridor.

Towards one side of the hallway was the room the three Pokémon had previously thrown Tristan in last night. Charisma stopped in front of the room's door, her hand touching the specially-designed doorknob that Demon had made. She was alone; Romeo and Trickster were still sleeping so she was able to stand there without worrying that anyone was watching her, thinking about Tristan.

_Tristan has, no doubt, fallen in love with Ivona, _she began thinking, _But does he still remember you?_

Charisma shook her head violently, wanting those damn thoughts thrown out. She wasn't in love with him anymore, and chances were, Tristan didn't love her any longer either. Shoving those thoughts away, she forcefully put her hand on the key, unlocking the door to Tristan's room and walked in there.

Tristan's room looked much like what one could describe as an insane asylum. The walls were made of rough, cement gray, the air smelling of mold and mildew. It was uncomfortably humid, so humid that Charisma could feel her own legs dripping with sweat heavily under her gown. The room itself wasn't too big, nor was it too small. It was about the size of an ordinary house bedroom, complete with Charisma's small bed and a wooden, bug-bitten desk. There was no window to welcome any sunlight. Instead, a flickering phosphorescent light hung from the rather low ceiling, struggling to survive.

Charisma turned towards Tristan, sitting on the bed. His handsome, handsome face stared at Charisma in a mixture of bewilderment and anger. She smirked.

"Hello, Tristan," Charisma said with a sly, seductive smile. "I do hope you had a wonderful night's sleep."

He said nothing as she walked towards him.

"Are you hungry? If you'd like, I could get breakfast for you. You must be hungry; you didn't have dinner last night anyways. Or how about a shower? You didn't have the chance to take one last night either. Anything to make you comfortable, Tristan," Charisma went on, her voice feigning chastity.

Tristan kept his gaze on Charisma. "Where am I?" He spoke sharply.

"Is that how you respond to my polite offerings?"

Tristan looked away, his face turning red. "W-Why am I here?"

Charisma giggled, one of her hands girlishly covering her mouth. "I almost forgot to ask. What is your new girlfriend like?"

"Don't mess around with me!"

"What's her name, Ivona, isn't it?" Charisma continued giggling; it was so much fun tormenting Tristan. "Do you think she's prettier than me? We _are_ both Gardevoir after all, so who wins the beauty pageant?"

Tristan stammered. Charisma could tell he was clearly confused. "H-how do you…?"

"I've been watching you for a long time," Charisma carried on, "Even after we stopped seeing each other."

"You better not do anything to her!" Tristan stood up impulsively, rage building within him.

"Oh, why would I do anything to _her_?" Charisma cackled.

Charisma saw Tristan breath heavily, and then saw he was preparing a move. A dark, black light began to envelope one of Tristan's blade. Night Slash. Charisma stayed where she was, unmoved by his threat.

"Your attacks are useless, _Tristan_," Charisma loved saying his name. "You are stuck in a room where your attacks are rendered ineffective."

Tristan glared at Charisma, the light from his blade disintegrating.

"You see," Charisma smirked once again, "I had a friend of mine cast a spell here that neutralizes your attacks. It's best to save your energy, my love."

The handsome Gallade breathed heavily from the heavy humid air. How much more would he have to suffer from Charisma's loathsome mockery.

"Anyways," Charisma continued, "I'll answer your questions now. Right now, you are in the underground of the Metropolitan. You are here for reasons I can't tell you. They're too much of a secret for you to know."

Tristan gritted his teeth, clearly annoyed. "I'm not getting out, am I."

"Nope." Charisma popped the "p" of her answer. "You're staying here until I see that you may go."

"Then, you'd better not do anything to Ivona!"

Charisma responded with her usual sarcastic smirk. "We'll see."

The door suddenly opened, the creaking of the knob making the Gardevoir and the Gallade pay attention to who was entering the room.

"So you _were_ here, _ma chérie_," Romeo's deep and charming voice said as the door fully swung open.

"Oh, good morning," Charisma replied nonchalantly.

"And to you, dear," Romeo replied, closing the door. "May I ask what you were doing here?"

"Oh, just giving a little welcome to our friend here," Charisma gestured towards Tristan.

"I see," Charisma could hear a hint of doubt in Romeo's voice.

"Moving on," Charisma would not allow Romeo to continue. "You know what you have to do today later on."

Romeo looked slightly perplexed, and then a look of understanding came upon his face. "Right. I _do_ know what I must do today. _Bien s__û__r, ma chérie._ The question is, what will _you _do?"

Charisma breathed heavily, the moldy air entering her lungs. She wasn't bothered by this in the least. "Actually, I'm going to Godfather right now."

Romeo smiled smugly. "I see. The best of luck to you, _ma chérie_."

_I wonder if I'll need it_, Charisma thought, making sure Romeo wouldn't read her thought very easily.

"I'll see you later," Charisma said, straightening herself and heading towards the door. "You should keep our friend some company here in the meantime. He's obviously starving, and is in need of a good shower."

"_À__ plus tard_," Romeo waved goodbye before Charisma closed the door.

With a sigh, she stood outside the closed door to Tristan's room for a few seconds. Charisma precisely remembered the last time she saw Godfather. The last time she had seen him, she heard him calling Charisma worthless and completely meaningless. She was standing in the deep and dark depths of the Lair, thirty-thousand feet under the Metropolitan, well below the sewers and the subway system of the city. Godfather was using Charisma, trying to get to her to activate a black hole, something only a Gardevoir could do. She was standing in the middle of a carved circle, and she was struggling to breathe. No matter how many times she tried to activate a black hole for Godfather, she couldn't do it. She ended up losing much of her blood in the process, making her unconscious for quite a while. Even when she was still recovering, she went to go see Godfather again, wanting to persuade him to try activating a black hole from her once more. She had tears running like rivers down her eyes, imploring that she could make a black hole like Godfather wanted. He looked away, utterly disgusted at the Gardevoir's pathetic begging. It was then that he deemed Charisma useless. _You are not special. You are worthless, meaningless, you don't deserve to exist. You can't even do what I ask of you. Raising you was a waste. Get out of my sight._

Charisma closed her eyes. She would not let such heavy memories weigh her down. With a flick of her gown, she head towards the deeper depths of the Lair, a solid feeling of unsteady sureness wrapping around her body.

Romeo

Romeo sighed, worried for Charisma. He wondered if she would be alright. The last time Charisma had seen Godfather, Godfather had dismissed her, not wanting to see her again. He assigned Charisma to stay away from the Lair underground, forcing her to stay in the Metropolitan City. It was why Charisma ended up spending most of her time these days hanging around the city. It was why Charisma ended up going out with Tristan, away from Romeo. Time seemed to simmer some of the tensions though. Charisma occasionally went back to the Lair, though she was never very close to Godfather's Grand Antechamber, and Godfather didn't seem to mind too much.

Romeo suddenly noticed Tristan staring at the Blaziken.

"Ah, you must be very confused as to who I am." Romeo focused his attention towards the Gallade. "My name is Romeo."

Tristan didn't reply. Romeo knew he was cautious.

"As you know, I was one of the Pokémon who abducted you last night," Romeo went on in a sympathetic voice, "So of course, I am not your ally. You are hungry, _oui_? Is there anything you particularly like? Of course, I expect that you'll want a shower while you're at it."

Tristan was gingerly surprised at Romeo's attitude. He kept his mouth shut, however, still wary of Romeo.

"You won't have to be so careful," Romeo said in his most honest voice, "I promise to you that I'll do whatever I can to make you comfortable while you're stuck here. I can't tell you why you're here. But, do you know that you're in the underground of the Metropolitan?"

"Y-Yes." Tristan replied carefully. "Charisma already told me that."

"I see." Romeo looked down at the cement floor. "Did Charisma say anything else?"

Tristan was silent for a moment before speaking. "Nothing. Just that I can't use my moves in this room."

"Did she mention anything about your new girlfriend?"

The Gallade jerked back, surprised to hear Romeo's question. In a trembling, shaky voice, he said, "I-Ivona's not my new girlfriend."

"No need to worry," Romeo replied calmly. "She might not be your girlfriend, but I know that you're very much in love with her."

Tristan blushed, a scowl forming on his face. "My personal life is none of _your _business."

"Actually, it is my business."

"What?"

"Did Charisma ever tell you that I was her first boyfriend?" Romeo smiled. "I was her first boyfriend. She didn't love me, though, and she broke up with me. After some time, you came into her life, and offered her love. She did love you, very much, even if she was using you as her servant later on. Then, you stopped seeing each other, and your relationship disintegrated. Charisma, of course, didn't _seem_ so bothered, but she was, in fact, very bothered. You know, she still harbors feelings of love for you. I wonder if you feel the same way towards Charisma, though that seems unlikely at this rate, considering how much you love Ivona."

"W-why are you telling me this? And how do you know so much?"

"Let's just say that I've known Charisma for a very long time." Romeo finally looked up from the cement floor. "Now, you're hungry. I've dwindled too much on Charisma, like the sad, wretched romantic I am. Like I asked before, is there anything you want to eat? Or would you like to shower first?"

"Oh." Tristan sighed. "I am hungry, but I don't mind whatever I eat at this point. As for a shower, I would like one, though I don't see how that's possible considering that I'm trapped in this room."

"_Bien s__û__r,_" Romeo replied as he headed for the door. "Not to worry for your shower. I'll get you a bucket of water. This is all I can do."

"One more thing before you go," Tristan said right as Romeo was about to put his claw on the doorknob.

"By the way, Tristan," Romeo gave a warning eye to the Gallade, "Don't try thinking of escape. Like Charisma told you, you can't use your moves in this room. A friend of ours cast a spell that makes your moves useless. And this door can only be opened by select Pokémon, meaning you can't open it."

Tristan flinched ever so slightly, hearing the ominous tone in Romeo's voice. "I was about to ask whether or not everything you told me was true."

Romeo sighed once again. "When it comes to love, I never lie. I know that Charisma is still in love with you. She continuously denies it, truth be told. And Tristan, I have to tell you that I am jealous of you."

"What-?"

Without letting Tristan finish his question, Romeo quickly opened the door and slammed it behind his back.

Romeo wiped his face with his arm. Tristan's room was unbelievably humid. He pitied the Gallade. He was certainly jealous of him, but he was also grateful to him. Tristan certainly brought out another side of Charisma, one that Romeo failed to do. For a while, for some time, Tristan was able to make Charisma happy, genuinely happy. Charisma found true love, just for a while, before she started treating Tristan like a servant.

The Blaziken gripped his claws, feelings of jealousy and pity beginning to rip him apart. He shook his head, his fur bristling with tension as he began walking back to where Trickster was still sleeping.

Tristan

Tristan wiped his face, the sweat smearing on his arm. His abductors were truly cruel, giving him a sticky, humid room. If anything, he would've preferred to stay trapped in a cold room rather than a humid room.

With a sigh, he sat down back on the bed. And then, he remembered. He had forgotten to ask why the bed smelled so much like Charisma. He was almost repulsed by it when he first found out the bed he had slept on smelled so much like his ex-girlfriend, but then realizing that there wasn't anything else suitable enough for him to sit on in the room, he stuck with it. He wondered why Charisma's bedroom was here in this terribly humid room. It wasn't like she actually slept here, or did she? And then, without realizing it, Tristan's thoughts began drifting towards Charisma. _You know, she still harbors feelings of love towards you_…_ When it comes to love, I never lie. I know that Charisma is still in love with you. She continuously denies it, truth be told. And Tristan, I have to tell you that I am jealous of you. _Charisma might've still loved Tristan, but Tristan couldn't return her feelings. He couldn't love her now as he once did long ago.

And then more troubling thoughts entered Tristan's mind. It was bad enough he couldn't get to work. He began to worry deeply for Ivona. What if Charisma was really going to do something bad to her? If what Romeo said was true, that Charisma still loved Tristan, what if she was jealous? But then again, Charisma didn't seem like one to chase after someone else for Tristan only, or would she? Tristan could never forget what Charisma turned him into as their relationship continued: a damn slave. If Charisma did something to Ivona, he would never forgive her. It was tormenting, knowing that there was a possibility that Ivona was in danger from Charisma.

He sighed in frustration, finding himself staring at the quivering phosphorescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling. He couldn't get out of the room, couldn't get to work, couldn't see Ivona again. Today, Ivona would be going to Fyre's office in the early morning, discussing on whether or not she would be allowed to go to the ruins. He hoped that she would be allowed; she was a historian, and it was clear that she needed more information to solve her mystery. At the same time, he was not allowed to escape his abductors, and he didn't want Ivona going there by herself. There was a very good chance of a monster lurking in the Penn Kingdom Ruins.

_Relax, relax, relax…_ Tristan thought to himself. _Believe that you'll get out of here, somehow, sometime, that someone, some Pokémon will save you and you'll get out of this unpleasant place…_

Trickster

Trickster yawned, its eyes slowly opening. It found itself in the familiar Lair, its body casually lying on top of the musty, but invitingly comfortable, plush couch.

"Oh, perfect timing," Romeo said from behind, abruptly surprising the Ditto, "I need you to help me do some things."

"Whaat? I just woke up!" Trickster sat up on the couch, stretching its Scizor arms.

"You complain more than you need to," Romeo said with a disapproving glance. "If you do not help, expect an unwelcome Flare Blitz from me."

"Fine, fine," Trickster had the tone of a rebellious teenager, but Romeo was a Pokémon not to be messed with. "What do you need me to help you with?"

"First of all, I want you to get a bucket of cold water."

Trickster rolled its eyes while it sighed. "Okay, then what?"

"Give it to our friend in his room. Don't leave the door open when you enter his room."

"Shut up, I'm not that dumb."

"I'm going to get breakfast for our friend," Romeo continued as if he had never heard Trickster's retort. "The poor Pokémon didn't have any dinner last night."

"Right, right," Trickster stood up from the couch, stretching again.

With an annoyed sigh, Trickster went over into the dark hallway of the Lair, making its way towards a closet filled with cleaning supplies. It found a plain, ordinary gray bucket and grabbed it with a claw. Trickster closed the closet, and went to go straight for the underground well. On his way, turbulent thoughts began storming around its mind, as if a thunderstorm were preparing to invade its brain.

_Why do I always seem so underappreciated…? It's not fair that every time Romeo and Charisma meet each other, they always ignore me as if I don't exist. And when they're not together, one of them always has to stay with me. Romeo made me stay with Charisma millions of times, and Charisma can't seem to care less about me. She can't even consider us siblings. She even calls me a 'phony,' what did I ever do to get that insult? It pisses me off! And then, when I'm alone with Romeo, he treats me like a little kid. I'm a freaking adult, just as old as Charisma and Romeo, and I _can _be as mature as those two Pokémon. But whenever they're around me, they're treating me like a freaking kid. What the hell is their problem?! Why should I have to be treated like a kid? Why can't I just be alone? Why can't they just freaking trust me? Why can't I just roam around by _**myself**?!

Trickster let out an aggravated sigh. Even just now, Romeo had told Trickster to close the door when it would give Charisma's ex-boyfriend a bucket of water. Of course he would close the door! How dare the goddamn Blaziken tell him something he already knew he had to do? He wasn't dumb enough to leave the door open so that Charisma's ex would escape. Seriously. Romeo telling Trickster this made him pissed off even more.

"I'm old enough to know that I can't leave the door open," Trickster muttered to itself. It felt slightly better after saying those words, but it didn't calm down the raging storm wildly thrashing about in his mind.

_Maybe after Godfather finishes his plans and has no more use for us, I can finally go and have a _life… Trickster thought. _Godfather doesn't care for any of us, and yet, Charisma and Romeo are both so stupid to continue following his directions. Demon is just as dumb, seriously. Phantom is the only smart one. Phantom at least told Godfather outwardly that he would leave the group, not even giving a crap for Godfather's plans. Maybe I should do the same thing as Phantom, just tell the group that I call it quits… Phantom is probably a lot happier instead of serving as a butler to Godfather anyways…_

Ivona

I arrived to work today a little later than I usually did. I had woken up at six, as usual, though I didn't arrive at work until nine. When I walked into the museum, I noticed that everyone seemed to be in their usual places: Jenna and Avery were at the circulation desk, and Tierra was offering a couple a tour of the museum. I went over to the sign-in sheet, and signed my name. Strangely, I noticed Tristan hadn't signed his name in today. I found myself rereading the sign-in sheet, surprised to find that Tristan's name was not signed.

"Is anything the matter Ivona?" Jenna noticed the expression on my face.

"Tristan's name isn't written here," I heard my voice say.

"Really?" Jenna began to look at the sign-in sheet, taking a glimpse of the names. "Oh, you're right. That's odd, considering Tristan's always here."

I nodded in agreement. "Did he say he wasn't coming today?"

_Ivona, that's a stupid question… Don't you think he would've at least told you that he wasn't coming to work today? You were walking with him last night, for Dialga's sake!_

"I didn't hear him say anything like that." Jenna remarked, and then turned to Avery. "Hey Avery, did Tristan say he was coming to work today?"

Avery looked up from his papers, and then looked at the both of us. "No. I don't recall Tristan saying anything like that. You say his name isn't signed in?"

"No." I replied. "It seems out of his character."

"Hm." Avery was curious. "Tristan is the type of Pokémon to say that he wouldn't be coming to work in advance. Yes, Ivona, you're right. It's completely out of his character. I've known him since grade school."

I remembered my walk with Tristan last night, how kind he was to walk me home. He hadn't shown any signs of worry, except when he asked me why I wore a cloak. But surely, something like that would have no relation as to why he hadn't signed his name.

"Maybe he forgot to sign in?" Jenna suggested.

"Impossible." Avery said theatrically. "Tristan is a very organized Pokémon. He wouldn't forget to sign in."

"Ah, I just remembered," I looked towards Fyre's office. "I need to go see Fyre." Without wasting any more time, I rushed towards his office, my cloak and my gown flying rather disorderly. I heard Jenna and Avery say their goodbyes, and I gave them a small wave, not looking at them.

I knocked gently on Fyre's door, slightly breathing heavily. I had to calm down in front of my boss. Otherwise, I wouldn't appear very reputable.

"Come in!" Fyre's familiar voice called.

I slowly opened the door, finding myself in his familiar office. I had come in here once when I was applying for a job at the museum. I recognized his familiar dark brown carpet, his sleek, modern-looking desk, and the walls adorned with colorful paintings from the Renaissance Era. The window behind his desk offered a docile, pleasing view of Cloisters Park. Fyre was sitting at his comfortable, swirl-around chair, looking reserved as he usually was.

What I didn't find so familiar was Levine standing in the middle of the room, his arms crossed, giving me a severe gaze. I might as well have committed some atrocious felony in his eyes.

"First of all," Fyre began, his voice grabbing both of our attentions, "Ivona, may I have a report on your progress so far?"

"Of course." I replied without hesitation, and explained to Fyre my progress as cleanly as I could, mentioning everything from Bens Kamex's journal to the paintings. "Would you like a copy of my notes?" I immediately reached into my tote bag.

"It won't be needed." Fyre waved a paw vaguely in the air. "I trust you enough that you're making progress."

"If I may say something," Levine said instantly as Fyre finished his sentence.

"Yes?"

"You are well aware that the Penn Kingdom Ruins are an extremely dangerous place." Levine looked at me with a despicable glare. "As I said yesterday, it goes without saying that Ivona is not prepared to go there."

"Well, we can always ask the government for help. I'm sure they won't hesitate lending us some of their Pokémon from the military for extra protection. After all, Ivona's project is a very interesting one. I would like to see where Ivona is going with this project. There has never been another Pokémon in history to crack the mystery behind Vera the Gardevoir, and I would certainly be proud if a historian from our museum cracked the mystery.

"With all due respect, I highly doubt the government would help fund us on this dangerous idea. While Ivona's project is interesting, it is also very dangerous. Pokémon could lose their lives for this. I don't want this museum's name to be ruined were we to cause some Pokémon's death because of _Ivona_."

A stiff silence suspended in the air, as if an answer refused to give itself to a question.

"You do bring up good points," Fyre began slowly, and then continued comfortably, "However, like the saying goes, 'The ship is safest when it is in the port, but that's not what ships were built for.'* Ivona, your request is approved. You are allowed to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins. I would like a few of Pokémon to go with you. For starters, Tristan offered to go with you, and he is no doubt, a stupendous battler so he will go with you. Marlene will also go with you, since she may analyze some intriguing artifacts found there to bring back. Is that alright?"

I stared at my boss incomprehensively for a few seconds, the fact that my request was approved much more easily than I had imagined was sinking in my head quite slowly. Realizing I had to reply, I quickly agreed.

"Also," Fyre looked at the Zoroark, whose eyes seemed much icier than before, "I'll have Levine go with you."

Levine's eyes went wide open at Fyre's sudden order. "E-Excuse me?"

"Is that alright with you?"

My heart started beating more quickly. I didn't want to have to go to the ruins with a Pokémon who despised me. It was evident that he didn't like me, so why would he have to travel with me?

_This is your boss's decision_, I heard a voice scold me, _If Fyre forces him to go, it's because he's the boss and he can tell others what to do. You have no say in this._

"I'm just the designer," Levine defended himself, "What would you expect me to do?"

"I'd like you to go there because you're a splendid battler yourself. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it if you go there."

Levine grumbled something incomprehensible as he closed his eyes. "I would rather not, thank you very much."

Fyre was slightly surprised. "Oh, that's disappointing. If you insist, however, I won't stop you from not going."

Levine hung his head, his eyes now hiding under his thick, dark fur. "If you'll excuse me, I'll head back to my office." Levine stormed out of the room, though not very aggressively, the door closing rather rigidly. Inside, I felt my heart slow down in relief. I was grateful that I wouldn't have to travel with Levine.

In a thankful voice, I said to Fyre, "Thank you very much. I won't let you down."

"I expect good things from you," the usually-reserved Fyre smiled modestly. "It was definitely worth hiring you. You're just doing your job as a historian, and I can see that very clearly. I'll inform Tristan and Marlene about the expedition later."

I looked at my boss with a small surprise. "Tristan hasn't signed in today yet."

Fyre gave me a challenging gaze. "Are you sure?"

I nodded affirmatively. "His name wasn't signed in."

Fyre put a paw to his chin. "Well then, that's quite odd, coming from Tristan. I'll call his house number and see if he's there."

"Alright," I nodded once again, "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it," Fyre said as he waved another paw, vaguely dismissive, reaching for his phone.

For a moment, I wanted to stay in his office and see if he was going to call Tristan. If it was Tristan, I wanted to stay, and I wanted to talk to Tristan, asking where he was, asking if he was alright, asking if he would come to work. I wanted to stay in his office, and hear his lovely, courteous baritone voice, hear him say, _Ivona, I'll be coming to work, so don't worry!_ I wanted to stay in his office and hear his smile on the phone, comforting me, making me feel safe as he had made me feel since the first day I had met him.

But instead, I left the office, leaving Fyre dialing a number that might have not been Tristan's at all, closing his office door leisurely.

I stood in front of the office door, finding myself staring at the passive, dark gray stone floor of the museum.

_Get a move onto the library, _the familiar, haughty voice in my head suddenly said, _Tristan is fine. Why are you worrying about him? Remember, your _job_ is much more important than that Gallade. In fact, he's probably on his way to work right now, so you know what? Get to the library!_

With a shake of my head, I told the haughty voice to shut up. I walked away from Fyre's office, heading for the library. On the way, Joey greeted me amiably.

"Ivona! How are you?" The jolly Abomasnow smiled happily.

I gave Joey a mild smile. "I'm doing well, you?"

"I'm dandy as always!" Joey laughed.

"Thank you for teaching me Icy Wind yesterday," I mentioned, "Do I owe you anything?"

"No, nothing in particular," Joey responded. "But, I would like to battle with you."

"Oh." I found myself hesitant to reply to his request. He was the second Pokémon to ask me that, next to Tristan. "Of course. We can battle next Friday, is that alright?"

"Sure!" He replied jubilantly.

"By the way, have you seen Tristan around here?"

Joey looked as if he was searching his memory. "No. He's probably at the library though. I unlocked the doors to the library early this morning, so he might be there."

"I see." My heart faltered a bit. Joey's answer hadn't really helped me.

"Is anything the matter?" Joey had sensed my feelings.

"Tristan hasn't signed in this morning."

"Really?" Joey looked at me in surprise. "That's unusual, coming from a Pokémon like him. He's very neat and organized, and very nice and polite."

Hearing this made my heart beat a little bit more quickly than before. Somehow, when Joey said those words, I couldn't help but feel my concern for him grow. There was no doubt Tristan was polite and kind, and yet, the fact that he wasn't at the museum was strange, something that made me worried for him.

"Yeah," I replied, and then straightened myself once more. Looking at Joey, I said to him, "I'll see you around."

"See ya!"

I continued going back to the library, my mind trying to dismiss Tristan. Of course, he would be coming. Why was I grieving over the fact that he hadn't gone to work today? Sure, it was totally out of his nature, but you know what, me being extremely concerned for a Pokémon I only knew for one week was completely out of _my _nature. I had only known Tristan for one week, one week, and yet, I had the nerve to feel concerned for him! I began scolding myself for feeling concerned over Tristan. I couldn't believe I actually wanted to listen to his voice, to hear him say to me that he was alright and that he would be coming to work.

I sighed, stepping up the stairs to the double doors of the classical-gothic library. The door was unlocked, as usual. I opened the door with ease, closing it as soon as I had entered the library.

I noticed the unexpected heavy silence around the library. I wanted to break the silence; I wanted to hear Tristan's voice greet me in his wonderful, rich voice, almost as if he was singing my name. The library seemed empty and cold without Tristan here. For the first time in a long time, I truly felt alone. I hadn't felt this loneliness since my parents were taken away from me.

_Why are you comparing the fact that Tristan's absence is just like how your parents were taken away?!_

To my amazement, I managed to ignore the haughty voice scampering around my mind. It suddenly seemed remarkably immature of me to feel that I shouldn't care for Tristan. Of course I should care for him. It didn't matter if I loved him or not, he was a Pokémon, and that meant he deserved to be worried over like any other Pokémon if they didn't show up at their usual job. Tristan had helped me with my project on Vera, he showed me a gorgeous view of Cloisters Park above the library, he helped me with battling, and he walked me home last night when he could've gone straight to his own apartment. To reject him and say he wasn't worth caring about was immature of me. To say that my job was more important than him was severely selfish of myself. How could I let myself be so moody before? I was never this much of a drama queen, especially with that proud, haughty voice in my head.

_You know what, _I thought to myself, _my job _is_ important, but so is Tristan. It's not because I love him. It's because he's a Pokémon like any other, and all Pokémon have the right to live. Even if Tristan wasn't the Tristan I knew, I would still have to feel concerned about him._

"Tristan…" I spoke his name softly, the syllables forming tenderly on my lips.

Straightening myself once more, I headed towards my office. I did my usual routine: unpack my bag, take off my cloak, sit down at my desk, and make myself get lost in my theories.

_I wonder if I can find any of the artifacts that Bens Kamex discovered… I know that Tristan contacted every library, but what if some other museums are hiding those artifacts…? Maybe Tristan can help me, he probably knows where all of the phone numbers of all the museums are…_

Intrigued by this new thought, I suddenly called out Tristan's name, ready to ask him my question. And then, to my embarrassment, I suddenly remembered that Tristan wasn't here. His neat, immaculately well-kept desk was vacant. It looked like it was missing something to complete the picture. It was missing Tristan. It was no wonder it appeared incomplete.

_That's right. Tristan's not here. He can't help you right now…_

I sighed, exasperated. Today would seem like a long day at work. The small haughty voice in my head was bound to run around my head again, declaring that my job was more important than Tristan and that he wasn't worth caring about. I would somehow have to fight off that voice inside me eventually.

_Later around noon…_

Levine

Levine sighed to himself as he stared up in the clouds on the park grass, lying down against a tree trunk. It was a fairly nice day. The clouds were as puffy as cotton candy, the sun shining happily in the sky. The lush grass felt like a gentle mattress, something that put Levine at ease. Still, this day wasn't so special. In his long life, he had seen many ordinary days like this one. He had to admit, though, even if there were so many ordinary days, it was that ordinary days such as this comforted him from pesky problems.

Like that Ivona Gardevoir. And her damn project. He couldn't stand that Ivona Gardevoir.

She was quite a burden to the museum. The new coworker was too curious. Being too curious meant that she was risking her entire life on a string. Who did she think she was? Only one week at her new job, and she already wanted to go to the Penn Kingdom Ruins. Couldn't that Gardevoir be content just sitting among a bunch of books in the library? Wasn't that what most historians did anyways? Just sit around a bunch of books and read all day? But no, this historian decided to not play it safe and go ahead and head for the ruins. Did she even _know_ how much her life was in danger just going to those ruins? Levine himself had been to the Penn Kingdom Ruins once, but he was lucky to have made it out alive. There really was a terrible monster lurking there; Levine didn't know if he could call it a Pokémon.

In the beginning, he didn't think her project would be about Vera the Gardevoir. She seemed like a decent Pokémon. He really thought she would just sit in the library and sift through books and documents the entire day, focusing on any project but Vera. He found out he was wrong when she asked him about the paintings.

Those damn paintings. He almost hated Marlene for showing her those paintings, but he found himself letting the pretty Weavile off the hook. Marlene didn't know how much value those paintings had, and as far as she was concerned, those paintings weren't so much of an importance to her. Perhaps that was why she showed those paintings to the Gardevoir without having any worrying thoughts.

His stomach rumbled, crying out for lunch. He gave a cynical look at his belly. He would use his lunch break to lie down and enjoy the relaxing day that nature could offer him today. Not so he could go eat something. Levine was ready to turn his head back up to the sky to enjoy the fluffy clouds.

Without a warning, Levine suddenly saw a familiar and unwelcome figure.

_Romeo_.

What was he doing here? That damn bastard was walking straight towards the library, minding his own business. Levine paid close attention to him, realizing that he was the only Pokémon watching Romeo walking towards the library.

Levine observed closely, his thick mane hiding his eyes. Something told him Romeo wasn't up to any good. At the library, Levine knew there was only one Pokémon in there: Ivona. What would Romeo go there for? Whatever it was, Levine was as sure as hell that it wasn't good.

Romeo slowly opened the double doors to the library ever so quietly. Levine continued to lie down against the tree, pretending not to notice. When the Blaziken closed the doors, Levine began creating an illusion around the library, carefully separating reality from his illusion as diminutively as possible.

Levine immediately stood up from the tree and began heading towards the library. He would go inside the library and see what Romeo was going to do with Ivona.

_Ivona_, Levine grit his teeth, _You have no idea how dangerous your project is… Your project has grabbed their attention__, and it __is the reason they are beginning to chase after you now…_

* * *

*I do not own this quote: "The ship is safest when it is in the port, but that's not what ships were built for." – Paulo Coelho, _The Pilgrimage._

Onwards to the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! As always, reviews are welcome.


	10. What Happened At the Library

Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been working on a good handful of new stories, including another Gallade/Gardevoir fanfic called _Romance of the Prisoner_. And, I might write another Gallade/Gardevoir fanfic, though this one is more like a collection of short stories/one-shots. The idea has been written down on paper, but I'm still deciding on how to approach it. If you'd like to see all of my works in progress, you're free to check out my updated profile. In real life, my parents have been dragging me all over the place, from weddings to family reunions to birthday parties and the like. I'm not allowed to bring the laptop either. And I've been reading a bunch of really boring novels lately, so I'm hunting for a book worth reading my time, and it hasn't been going so well lately. T-T That aside, enjoy!

* * *

Romeo

On the night Charisma, Trickster and Romeo had abducted Tristan in his apartment, Charisma told Romeo the next step of her plan to stop Ivona. Without any doubt, kidnapping Tristan wouldn't be enough.

Amazingly, the trio was able to sneak into Tristan's apartment building, and they were fortunate that there was no doorman to greet them on the ground floor. With that, Charisma ordered Trickster to transform into a Joltik to hack into the security system so that all security cameras wouldn't work. He did as Charisma asked, and so the trio was able to sneak into the building without worrying that they would be caught kidnapping Tristan.

Tristan's apartment was on the eighth floor, and Charisma insisted on not using the elevators, lest some Pokémon witness the trio in the building. She forced the trio to take the tottering, cramped stairs, prickling with brambly, dry air. No one ever used the stairs; Charisma was sure of that. Everyone liked using the elevators more because of its convenience, whereas if one took the stairs, it would be like walking up a steep hill in the atmosphere of a desert. It goes without saying that the walk was unpleasant, but Charisma forced the trio to march on.

When they were able to make it onto the eighth floor, Charisma led them to Tristan's apartment without anyone catching the three Pokémon. Though Tristan's door was locked, Charisma had a spare key to his apartment on her. He once gave her his spare key to his apartment, for Tristan welcomed her to his home any time of day. Romeo found it amusing that she always held onto the spare key without ever putting it anywhere else. She was certainly attached to the key, whether she liked it or not.

It was a pleasant surprise when the trio discovered they could render Tristan unconscious without putting in much effort. Charisma had an easy time making Tristan helpless, as if a Magikarp were pathetically Splashing around on a hot summer's day. They walked out of the apartment building without any trouble; the trio happened to be lucky that, again, no one had witnessed the three Pokémon strolling out with an unconscious Tristan. Naturally, Charisma made Romeo and Trickster carry Tristan. She would not touch him.

So after they snuck back into the underground of Metropolitan with considerable effort, they threw Tristan in a spare room, which happened to be terribly humid one as well. With some reluctance, Charisma gave up her bed to Tristan so he could lie on something decently comfortable. Romeo insisted, and after, Charisma surprisingly found herself agreeing.

And then, she got straight to business.

_"I want you to sneak into the Cloisters Library when no one is looking," Charisma began, "And warn her to not go near the ruins."_

_ "And how am I to do that?"_

_"Seduce her," Charisma smiled smugly, her face looking irresistibly devilish. "You're a handsome Blaziken. Use your looks."_

_ "What if that should not work?"_

_ "Use Tristan," Charisma answered quite simply, as if she were answering what color the sky was. "We kidnapped him to use as a hostage."_

_ "So I see." Romeo sighed. "Alright. I'll do it."_

_ "You'll do it tomorrow at noon, when Ivona is alone at work. Sneak into the library, and make sure no one is watching you."_

_"I'm not as stupid as Trickster, _ma chérie_. I'll do as you ask."_

And here Romeo was. He was standing right in front of the elegantly carved double doors to the quiet, private library. Ivona the Gardevoir would be in there. It wouldn't take very long, _bien sûr. _In fact, it should probably only take a few minutes, more or less. Though, he would have to be careful. He knew how much he pitied Tristan, the poor Gallade, trapped all alone in his hideously humid room. He no longer loved Charisma, he loved this Gardevoir he had never seen before, a Gardevoir named Ivona. Romeo didn't need to ask Tristan about how much he cared for her. Were Ivona to get hurt, Tristan would be distraught, _greatly_, like anyone in love_._ There was the possibility that Ivona and Romeo would battle on another, to the point where their lives would be at stake. Ivona was supposedly a weak Pokémon, but if a battle ensued, Romeo was worried about how much damage would take place.

Why was he doing this again? Oh, it was for Charisma, who was wanted Romeo to do this for Godfather. Charisma worshipped Godfather, which was a bit of a problem, but her devotion towards Godfather was so magnetic that it seemed impossible to pull her away from him. Still, keeping Ivona alive was all that mattered. Because Ivona was important for Godfather, his plans would be ruined if Ivona was killed, especially if she ventured into the Penn Kingdom Ruins. Secretly, he didn't want to play any part of Godfather's ambitious, evil plan. Romeo didn't even support Godfather's big scheme, but because he had raised Romeo as a little Torchic, he was trained to obey Godfather's every word, lest he suffer his apocalyptic wrath.

The Blaziken had a simple desire, and that was to love. He was a romantic, and Romeo only wanted love, especially from Charisma. When he was younger, he loved Charisma with all that he had. He had loved her ever since they were little children. He told himself that he would wait patiently for her to return his love, and he waited for so long. Now, he seriously doubted that Charisma would return his love, and he accepted this fact long ago and felt surprisingly content about it. Nevertheless, even though the sad truth was that Charisma didn't love Romeo, it had not stopped him from being a romantic. Charisma might have not loved him, but he wanted to make sure every other couple he met loved each other happily. He wanted love to triumph all, and now that he met Tristan, he already wanted to make sure he was happy with this new Gardevoir named Ivona. Like that old saying went, it was better to love than to never love at all. Love could bring the most wonderful of pleasures of life.

It was such a naïve dream, but Romeo didn't mind. Like the character, Romeo, from that famous play, _Romeo and Juliet_, written by some fantastically genius writer, he felt as if he was born for love itself. The stars had laid out Romeo's path for him at birth, and he was destined to serve love, to bring love to others, and to love, even if his own love never loved him. Love, Romeo thought, was his true calling. He wished he had the will to leave Godfather, just like Phantom had done long ago. He didn't want to have to serve under Godfather's crazy, megalomaniacal scheme.

And yet, he had to. He had to do this for Godfather, because Godfather was planning to use Ivona. Being a Gardevoir, she had the ability to create a black hole, and that was exactly what Godfather wanted. Godfather raised him as an abandoned Torchic, so he owed Godfather his life. So while Charisma told Romeo to stop Ivona from going to the ruins, it was really all for Godfather. It wasn't really for Charisma, though he loved her dearly.

_May the skies above help me… _Romeo prayed as he quietly opened the door to the library.

Ivona

When I heard the clock ring one time, I looked up and saw that it was one in the afternoon. I heard my stomach rumble, and realizing I hadn't made my own lunch, I decided to head out to buy lunch for today.

Pushing my chair back, I stood up and stretched my arms. I felt a soft breeze come through the opened window, smelling the hint of autumn arriving soon. It was only September, but autumn seemed to be coming more quickly than it had ever been in my life.

I heard a soft click, something that sounded vaguely familiar like the library doorknob opening. Immediately, I thought of Tristan, and that maybe he had finally come into work today. I wondered if I should have bolted up from the office and run to meet him, but after thinking about how embarrassing that would be for me, I decided to take the approach casually, like a coworker would do. So I took my tote bag, forgetting about my cloak and leaving it on the rack. Breathing, I knew I had to act natural, for whenever Tristan was around, I could not afford to act awkward for any reason.

I heard gentle footsteps softly walking around the dark mahogany wooden floor of the library. I prepared to put on a casual smile, for I was certain that Tristan would be there to greet me. I would tell him that I would go out for lunch quickly, and then come back to finish work.

Instead, I found a heart-achingly handsome Blaziken staring at me from a small distance. He stopped walking, and looked at me curiously. His gaze made me feel slightly insecure, so I quietly breathed in the air, filled with the scent of old books. I almost began wondering how many hearts he broke with that attractive face of his.

"Who are you?" I broke the silence between us in an assertive voice. I remembered that the library was private, and no one was to enter the library without written permission.

"_Bonjour. _You must be Ivona."

I caught my breath as he said my name. There was something wrong with the situation if this stranger knew my name and I didn't know his.

_Keep calm…_

"Did Fyre send you here?"

The Blaziken didn't respond. Rather, he continued staring at me. I regretted not putting on my cloak; who knew what was going on his mind?

"Listen," I continued in my assertive voice, hoping my voice hadn't weakened, "No one is allowed to enter the library without the written permission of the manager of the Cloisters Museum."

The Blaziken continued to remain silent. Without any warning, as if it was off-beat, he suddenly chuckled to himself. It seemed disturbing, as if he knew something I didn't.

_What is he planning to do…?_

"Ivona, you're a very strong Pokémon."

"…Excuse me?"

"Indeed, you are," he went on, not bothered in the least by the tone of my voice, "You know how to stand up for yourself, and you do so rather very well. I wonder what kind of past you have had. Well, it's time to get onto the real business why I am here." The Blaziken's gaze turned serious, making his face more dangerously handsome than before. "Let's begin by saying that if you do not follow what _we_ say, you shall find yourself in a very troublesome situation."

I pondered on his words. Clearly, he was threatening me. No, _they_ were threatening me. He mentioned the word _we_. But who were _they_? What would the troublesome situation be if I didn't do what _they_ said?

"I'd appreciate it if you would not be so vague on this." I replied quite harshly after another tense silence.

The Blaziken smiled seductively, and I almost thought I saw a flash of pity in his eyes before he continued with this unpredictable game. I didn't show any sign of emotion, making my face as stoic as I possibly could.

"_Ma chérie,_" he began, his voice suddenly sounding like he was singing. "You're a very interesting Gardevoir indeed. Tell me about yourself. You're very beautiful, and I would imagine that you have had men chasing you before, especially with those elegant arms, your graceful snow-white gown, and that gorgeous face of yours."

_What in the name of Arceus was going on? Why the hell is he trying to flirt with me? This is clearly making me feel uncomfortable! I don't give a damn if the guy is attractive, I want to rip this guy to shreds! Did he seriously think that he could do this to me because I was a Gardevoir?! Because I was a woman?!_

"If you do not leave this library," I warned, my voice filled with iron fury, "I will call security."

The Blaziken looked completely unfazed by my warning. Of course, how could I call security when Maureen and the others were at the museum and not the library?

A horrid thought crept into my mind: that I would have to battle for my own sake. It meant that there was a possibility destroying a good few bookshelves in the library, and what was worse was that this Pokémon was a Fire-Type. The library could easily burn if he let out a Fire-Type move.

_No, no. He's not showing any sign of harming you, so there is absolutely no reason for you to think you'd have to start battling for your own protection._

"So I see that you won't tell me about yourself," the Blaziken finally said rather comfortably, "I'll tell you a bit about myself, so that you may feel at ease. I was born here in Metropolitan City, and I grew up living in this beautiful metropolis. I once had a love, and she was a very beautiful Gardevoir like yourself. However, she never loved me, which broke my heart at first, though I am not as sad today as I was before. Do you trust me now?"

"Hah," I retorted, feeling myself a bit more charged with energy than before. "You didn't even introduce your own name. How can I trust you?"

The Blaziken suddenly narrowed his gaze.

"Regretfully, I must use our trump card. Do you want to see Tristan safely?"

I froze with fear, my body seemingly paralyzed. How could this stranger possibly know about Tristan?

"T-Tristan?" I heard my voice say his name, my voice weak.

"I found your weak spot," he chuckled to himself delightedly.

"What did you do to him?"

"If you want to see him safely," he continued, coming closer to me, "We're going to have to make some negotiations here."

I almost felt like I was glued to the floor, and that I couldn't bring myself to move away. Every step he was taking meant that the length between us was shortening. I felt threatened; I wanted to scream out for help. He didn't stop walking towards me, and my personal space wouldn't be what it was any longer.

Suddenly feeling a breeze coming from the opened window in the office, I realized that I had no choice but to battle. A part of me wanted to stop me from using Icy Wind, simply because it was an Ice-Type move and that wouldn't do any good on the Blaziken. If I used the move, it went without saying that something would break in the library.

I dropped my tote bag and quickly started preparing a Psychic. It would obviously be a more effective move, even if I hadn't used Psychic in a while. My mind went into a deep concentration for one second before I fully unleashed its raw power onto the Blaziken. With a surprised look on his face, he jolted back against a bookshelf, screaming in pain from the move. After exerting full force on the move, I breathed heavily, feeling my heart beat wildly. The bookshelf he had landed against started pushing itself against another bookshelf, creating a savage mass of bookshelf dominoes hitting one another until they hit the spiral staircase.

"I see this won't be as easy as I hoped it would be," the Blaziken suddenly snarled as he lifted himself up from the scattered books on the floor. "Do you want to see Tristan safely?"

_Damn!_ _He brought up Tristan again!_

"Stop playing this game with me and get to your point," I demanded, my voice more aggressive, though not louder.

"If you insist," the Blaziken spat. "Firstly, you shall not head to the Penn Kingdom Ruins."

I glared at him in defiance. "What?"

The Blaziken continued. "If you do go there, you had better be prepared to say Tristan goodbye."

"I'll ask again, what did you do to him?!"

He laughed. "You really are in love with Tristan."

I merely remained silent. I felt weak for letting him use Tristan as my weak point.

"But do not worry, _ma chérie_. He is safe, with _us_, and he is not dead."

I couldn't trust his lies, and yet, from the way he was talking to me, I felt that there was something about Tristan that he would not tell me. Something told me Tristan was not safe as this Blaziken said he was. I grew angrier, thinking that this Blaziken was treating me as if I would actually believe his lies.

We eyed each other, as if he was the predator and I was the prey.

"He's not dead, I assure you," the Blaziken smiled. "He will be if you go to the ruins."

Without a second thought, I launched off a Signal Beam straight towards him. To my horror, he dodged the attack and the attack burned through the bookshelves on the opposite side of the library from where I stood. Realizing what I had done, the Blaziken wasted no time and began starting his attack. An ominous purple light glowed from his claw as the Blaziken lunged for me.

Terrified, I quickly ran to my left. His Shadow Claw partially smashed through the wooden wall and scratched through my right arm. I yelped in pain as I ran amongst the bookshelves. I was grateful that the library was grand. One could get lost amongst the bookshelves, almost as if it was an eternal labyrinth. I left the Blaziken standing there, his claw trapped between the wood of the walls.

I hid myself behind a bookshelf, making sure my gown didn't was tightly behind me. I couldn't afford to give myself away so easily. Glancing hastily at my arm, I saw tiny drips of blood start leaking from the three marks from his claw. Alarmed, I covered the wound with my left hand.

I breathed in the air quietly, hoping to hear something from the Blaziken.

"Ivona," he said my name in a singsong voice despicably from a few bookshelves behind me. "You can run and hide, but you can't escape."

I stayed silent, holding my breath.

Without a warning, I heard a small explosion from behind. There was no doubt that the Blaziken had started something. I dashed out of the bookshelves, knowing that a fire would start burning soon.

"There you are," I heard him say as I ran. I turned around and found bookshelves burning. Whatever move he used was powerful enough to burn the bookshelves around him. If this continued, the library would collapse.

"I don't know who you are," I yelled through the fire and smoke, vaguely seeing the Blaziken's silhouette, "But whoever you are, you won't stop me from going to the ruins!"

This time, the Blaziken didn't reply. I stood there, wondering how to escape the library. The flames seemed to quickly dance on one bookshelf to another, creating a circle of fire all around me. It leapt gleefully all over, delightfully eating books and bookshelves, leaving me with no chance to escape.

From the center of the flames, I saw the silhouette of the Blaziken come out clearly.

"You cannot go to the ruins," he warned me with a dangerous gaze.

I stood there, the heat surrounding me. If I could summon the wind from the office, perhaps I could somehow calm down the flames, but it seemed highly unlikely from where I was situated. I felt helpless, something I hadn't felt in a long while. This feeling of helplessness was something I wanted to destroy. It was this familiar feeling, this feeling I developed when my parents were taken from me in those blue-magenta flames. It was this familiar feeling that stayed with me as I grew up as a Kirlia, and evolved into a Gardevoir as I was continuously chased by stalkers and rapists from my past.

I thought about how naïve I was thinking that because I moved to a new city, I could get rid of this feeling.

What could I do now?

Levine

Levine stood there, amidst the fire and the smoke, completely unmoved by the burning environment surrounding him.

Of course, all of it was an illusion. He had created it so that the conversation between Ivona and Romeo took place. The only thing that was an illusion was the library burning down. In reality, the library stood quietly as it always had been. Romeo and Ivona never truly battled each other, so neither was actually harmed from each other's illusory attacks.

Levine took one last look at the Gardevoir trapped around the ring of burning flames. She was gripping her arm, which was bleeding much more profusely than before now. Romeo was staring at her, looking slightly smug. Levine couldn't help but feel that there was something else Romeo felt for her. Pity, perhaps? Levine couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

The Zoroark sighed. His cover would be blown to Romeo, but it seemed necessary, for this illusion couldn't last any longer.

With ease, Levine cleared away the illusion. The fire vanished like magic, and all of the bookshelves smoothly seemed to repair itself. The two Pokémon noticed the change, and they abruptly noticed the Zoroark. Levine glared at Romeo, and spoke with his most deadly tone.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. Here."

Romeo glared at Levine. He looked at him curiously, as he had with Ivona before.

"Phantom, isn't it you?"

Levine was quiet before responding, giving Romeo a menacing look. He wanted to attack the Blaziken by calling him by his old name.

"Ivona got your message," Levine continued, not bothering to respond to Romeo's question. "Now, you had better leave before trouble _really_ heads your way."

Ivona

Nothing was destroyed. All of the books were fine. There was no fire. The bookshelves were completely intact. The battle that had taken place between me was somehow all an illusion, and yet, everything that had happened felt so real. I looked at my right arm, and it seemed as if the Blaziken's Shadow Claw never hit me.

"All of it was an illusion," Levine said in his rough voice, "Like I said, you had better get out of here, Romeo, before more trouble comes your way."

"Tch," the Blaziken named Romeo snarled, and then looked at me, "You've been warned."

With a heavy silence, Romeo headed quite calmly to the double doors of the library and walked out without another word, the door clicking behind him.

I turned my head to Levine. He stared at me, as if he was trying to analyze me.

"Thank you," I began quietly.

He snarled. "You were only lucky I was here."

I didn't respond.

"Do _not_ tell Fyre about this." Levine continued in his gruff voice. "You've stepped into something extremely dangerous. You and your damn project. Your goddamn project."

I stood there, staring at Levine. He stared back.

"Do you understand what I am saying?"

I nodded.

He stared at me for a few more moments. I didn't back down, and so I took the chance of asking him my questions.

"Who was the Blaziken? And why did he call you Phantom?"

Without warning, he tossed his head to his side, his mane flying in the air as he opened the door of the library.

"None of your business," Levine said in his usual, dismissive voice without looking at me.

When he left the library, I stood between the bookshelves, absolutely dumbfounded. What had just happened to me? A random stranger had just threatened me, using Tristan as a hostage, and I was saved by Levine, the Zoroark who seemed to hate me.

I shook my head, buried in both of my hands. "Ivona, get a hold of yourself…"

I straightened myself, unsure of what to do next. I didn't seem hungry anymore, for I was still overwhelmed by what had happened to me. I found myself staring at the spiral staircase, and thought about Tristan.

Romeo said Tristan was with _them_. I had too many questions at the moment, and I would get none of the answers. What did I do to have this happen to me? How was Levine related to all of this? What did he know that I didn't? Why was Tristan with _them_? More importantly, was he truly safe?

I head towards the spiral staircase, the spiral staircase Tristan and I had walked together. I made my way to the second floor, continuing on the stairs leading to the roof. With as much energy as I could gather, I pushed open the trapdoor to the roof, feeling the usual breeze, and got up onto the roof.

I looked out at the park, standing where Tristan and I had stood only a few days before. I remembered his hand holding mine, and the feeling of awe I felt when Tristan showed me this wonderful view of the park above the library. I remember thinking Tristan wasn't so important to me, though my feelings for him changed now as I stood.

"Tristan," I weakly called out his name as I started feeling hot tears rolling down my eyes, "Please be safe, wherever you are."

The wind softly blew against me, seemingly feeling indifferent to my emotions.

* * *

I never thought I would be adding one of Shakespeare's plays in a Pokémon fanfic. -_-' Well, it happened anyway. Romeo was originally intended to refer to Romeo in _Romeo and Juliet _anyway, but sadly, for this Romeo, there is no Juliet to love him back.

Not quite sure when the next update will be. At the moment, I'm trying to update at least two chapters a month for this fic. The next update will hopefully come more quickly than I expect.


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